The Problem with Portals, The Second Arc
by Albedo - 917
Summary: After a worthwile period of Albedo calmly researching the portal and taveling from world to world, trouble seems to pop up even beyond the corrupt Plumbers. A team of misfits in the middle of the merging of worlds.
1. After Four Months - Stories

The Problem with Portals: Arc II  
Chapter 1 - Prologue: After Four Months - Stories

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D. - Four Months after Arc I**_

Considering everything that has been going on around the city of Bellwood recently, one would think things in general would be quite hectic, yet in the Hideout of the former alien criminal named Albedo, things were looking quite peaceful, relatively speaking. Well as peaceful as it could be considered. In the middle of such a calm day, where almost nothing could be heard inside the curiously built base besides the faint talk of people coming from the kitchen, and the only light in the lounge being the setting of the evening Sun, the silence was soon broken eerily fast as the ever similar blue swirling portal opened horizontally facing the ground next to the couches. After a couple minutes of awkward pause three figures fell through it, one after another, onto each other in a comedic fashion. The one unfortunately landing at the bottom groaned in pain as he seemed to have drawn the short straw, he tried to move or get up to no avail. The three figures were Albedo, Jeff and Charmcaster in the order they fell out of the portal which soon closed after them as if to mock them. The sorceress sat on top of the pile of people and gently rubbed her head before she realized who exactly made up her comfortable landing, following which she was quick to move and chuckle awkwardly.

"Do you guys think I broke a rib again?" Jeff groaned as he slightly lifted his head off of Albedo's back allowing himself to catch his breath. He wanted to rub the sore spot but his hands got stuck under him for the moment. "Cause that would suck. Last time wasn't really pretty."

"Excuse me, which one of us landed on the bottom?" Albedo sarcastically replied as he crawled himself out from under the other young man. "Though considering we fell from quite the height I would say this is an achievement."

"Point taken." Jeff cringed as he finally stood up and stretched. "Are we ba- Oooh~ I smell something cooking! We back peeps!" he sniffed the air like a dog and dashed off towards the kitchen, his hood falling back from his head.

"Of course he'd go for the food." Charmcaster chuckled, "Were you counting?"

"I lost count at the 20th time he had reacted like this." Albedo snickered in response. "But it appears we have made it back once more." he let out a short sigh, "And still nothing has changed."

Normally such a statement would be welcomed with smiles yet in their case they had a lot to worry about. The knowledge that the current leader of the Earth's Plumber force was researching Chronosapien technology was fresh in their mind but they could not actively act on it yet... However, after two months of travelling one starts to realize some problems have arisen. After initially leaving four months ago, time seemed to have continued its course in the world even with them not being around. It _seemed_ to at least. Sure, the portal had proved itself capable of messing with time, time and time again, yet upon their first return two months prior to now things started to finally click together.

"Usually I would be quite amazed at such a phenomenon, yet within our current predicament, I feel we drew the short straw in life."

"Isn't that the usual?" Charmcaster shrugged with a smile.

"Hah, perhaps it is." Albedo nodded with a smile and a shrug as he closed his eyes.

_**Two months ago, Two months after initial departure**_

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D. **_

The portal once again has opened in the Lounge as it did some months back as the trio stepped out of it much nicer than they would do so in the future. They looked around for a couple seconds, as Jeff and Charmcaster sighed taking in their surroundings with a relieved smile, Albedo simply frowned as he looked up. He did not like what he was seeing.

"It is still Summer..." he mused under his breath, not catching the attention of anyone for the moment. "Say, today marks the second month we have been going from portal to portal, yes?" he asked, turning his attention towards the sorceress.

"Uhuh." Charmcaster nodded, "Why?"

"And by my knowledge a season on earth lasts approximately three months yes?"

"Yes..?" she raised an eyebrow.

"And last I checked we were well into your second season when _we_ figured out who our enemies were, no?"

"Yes." she nodded, "Where exactly are you going with this?"

"Then, why is it still Summer exactly?" he blurted it out as he turned towards Jeff and Charmcaster, the others not yet recognizing they were back.

"Huh?" she looked him straight in the eyes, "That can't be right."

"It cannot, indeed... Yet it is still, as clear as day." he sighed, "Sometimes I want to believe I am just going crazy when I see these location markers, but it is apparent that they have a more deeper rooted meaning, and sadly if they say it is Summer, there is not changing it." the alien clicked his tongue in frustration, "What exactly did Clyde do this time..?"

"So what? Hold on. Time just stopped?" Jeff looked at him dumbfoundedly, "Isn't that like, bad? No hold on, stupid question. That's really damn bad."

"I would say quite so." Albedo nodded in full agreement, "More so because we have absolutely no idea what had caused it. Is it the same around the world or only inside this barrier..?" he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "I had an inkling for a while but the time that had passed back then did not suggest that anything should have been out of the ordinary... It all seemed fine... But now it is clear."

"Oh hey you guys are back!" Ben's happy voice cut into the conversation from behind them as he greeted the trio with a smile. "It's been a while!"

"Quite a while indeed." the alien nodded, "Anything worthwhile happen in the two months we have been gone?"

"Not much thankfully, we watched the Plumbers' movements but it was nothing out of the ordinary, they just set up a patrol perimeter around the city and close to the barriers... But Clyde has not tried anything yet."

"So it seems plausible that he is behind this all..." Albedo sighed.

"Behind what?"

"It appears to still be Summer Benjamin... even after four months since you have returned back from your trip."

"So it is just like I thought." Ben let out a lengthy sigh. "Well that's just great."

"Benjamin?"

"For a while after you have left, the days seemed to pass by in a monotone... But it did not take more than a week to notice that it wasn't that the weather was stagnating or that we just had a good weather streak... It was the same day all throughout. _We_ passed time, we remembered but the world seems to have forgotten to pass the time."

"Is it worldwide after all?" Albedo clicked his tongue.

"Gwen 'called' us after a while and she has confirmed it... But the thing is, the Earth is apparently still spinning continuously, yet time is completely resetting each day."

"I have never heard of technology like this before..." Albedo gasped in wide eyed surprise, "Chronosapiens are the masters of anything time related but this does not sound like one such invention... Which would mean two things." he looked at Ben and Charmcaster who both nodded in response.

"Either Chronosapiens had a lot more hidden technology that the universe doesn't know about..." Ben started.

"Or Clyde has gotten the tech from another world..." the sorceress finished with a sigh, "Great. One is better than the other."

"Clyde seems more and more punchable if you ask me." Jeff chipped in, his expression showing he was quite ticked off "Scratch that, I'm gonna cut him the first time I see him."

"Normally I would hold you back from doing such a thing but I find myself sharing your sentiment." Albedo nodded. "So... Time has stopped. How do we even go about fixing this?"

"Don't let it affect what you three are doing for now." Ben smiled as he punched Albedo gently in the shoulder, "We are fine here and doing all we can, you do your best to find out what's causing at least one of our problems. I think stopping the portal is a bigger concern than time stopping considering it isn't affecting us negatively in the long run."

After their initial departure without so much as a word to anyone, the trio took the first chance they got to try to contact the base and confirm with everyone that the portal was indeed responsible for their disappearance. Yet Albedo decided back then to continue going from world to world in hopes of finding a possible source of sorts for this peculiar gateway, yet thus far it has been unsuccessful.

"Ha! Sure, I would like to believe I can handle that." the alien grinned widely. In a matter of seconds, the alarm, though now quieter, blared up again as the portal opened back up, allowing the trio barely ten minutes back at the base, "Oh, speak of the Devil, I think our next stop is inbound. Apologies for the short visit, it was beyond our control."

"No worries, we'll talk when you come back for real." Ben shrugged, "Have a nice trip. We'll hold down the fort here."

"See ya." Jeff did a two-finger salute as the three left again, leaving Ben to his own devices.

"Back to work I guess." the former hero shrugged as he headed off towards his room.

_**The Present**_

"I guess things didn't change that much around here." Charmcaster mused, "Still to think we have been gone for four total months excluding that one visit... This has been a wild trip."

"That is a precise understatement." Albedo rolled his eyes, "To think there was so much out there, beyond our own multiverse... We made so many friends, met so many people."

"Helped out so many." Charmcaster mused, "It feels nice."

"Oh definitely." the alien nodded enthusiastically, "A lot better than whatever I did in the past... If Rednus could see me now."

"I'm sure she would be as happy as I am." Charmcaster smiled as she side hugged Albedo, "You are a helluva lot different than what Ben has told me a year ago, in fact both of us are! So here to reformed sibling buddies!" she held up a hand, as Albedo without hesitation gave her a high five.

"Hear, hear!"

"And still we did not find a clue to the origins of this blasted thing." the alien sighed in frustration. "Oh well, I at least hope there are some good ne-"

"Oh, who's that I hear?" a blue tail appeared around the corner, which was soon followed by the appearance of the blue vixen named Krystal as her head popped up around the corner as well. Once she turned around and appeared in full before the two it was clear that she was wearing a white short jacket with short sleeves, over a purple and pink jumpsuit in the same style as her old one. She had two thigh pouches on each leg. She wore gloves on both hands that extended until her elbows, along with boots with shin guards reaching up to her knees. Her neck was hidden in a comfortable looking green short scarf. And to add to it all, she looked as happy as ever, "You guys are back!" she happily walked over to them.

"Krystal!" Charmcaster clapped her hands together in happiness, "You're up an' about!"

"Huh, as if I wasn't moving around four months ago." the fox teased.

"Oh you know what I mean!"

"Yeah, I do Hope." she smiled as the two shared a hug.

"How are you feeling?" Albedo asked with a smile relieved that at least someone of the three could leave the Infirmary already.

"Better than ever!" the fox commented with a wide grin, "You guys sure got me back to tip top shape in a relative jiffy."

"We tried our best." Albedo chuckled, "It is good to see you finally out of the Infirmary for good."

"Believe me the feeling is mutual." the fox laughed, "I mean four white walls is a happy place for a good two hours, after that you just want to go."

"What has been happening around here recently? We seem to have lost Jeffery to the power of the kitchen." Albedo sighed.

"Oh yeah, we planned on doing a big feast today. Ben was adamant about it, and seeing how you guys are back it feels like he had an inkling." the fox girl chuckled.

"Oh you really should no-"

"Shut up, I appreciate it." Charmcaster put a hand over Albedo's mouth surprising the Galvan greatly, "I haven't had a thing to eat for the last two days, I appreciate anything edible."

"I guess you really should have." Albedo shrugged as the three shared a chuckle. In a matter of seconds however, Albedo was knocked over from behind, falling in between the two girls as a white ball of fur was bouncing around in his back, "Hello to you too Leo. How have you been you little furball?" the lion cub growled for a second as he began playfully biting Albedo's head, who laughed in response, "Haha, I see."

"Where are the others?" Charmcaster asked as the tall man suddenly appeared behind him and the sorceress shuddered, "You really have a knack for this." she chuckled as she turned around to face him.

'_Apologies, I _am_ trying to fix the habit._'

"Don't worry too much about it." she chuckled.

'_It is good to see you back._'

"The feeling is quite mutual, friend." Albedo smiled as he got up, Leo taking his space on top of the alien's head. "There is a feast abound I hear?"

'_Ah yes!_' the tall man nodded enthusiastically, '_Gwendolyn has managed to send us some supplies after Benjamin had told her about our current members and situation. There seems to be a wide variety of foodstuff packed up for us so Benjamin thought it best to prepare most that cannot last for extended periods of time... But now that you are back here it seems all the more fitting._'

Albedo smiled gently and let out a short laugh, "Haha, I see. In that case we shall enlighten you with a wide variety of stories! Are we not?"

"Oh yeah!" the sorceress nodded with a thumbs up, "The things I've seen Krystal..." she seemed to shudder at one thought as she turned towards the fox with a horrified expression and continued in a whisper, "There are things that cannot be unseen."

"Where exactly have you guys been?" Krystal grew worried as she put her hands on the sorceress' shoulders.

"To a wide variety of places, some of which as our dear Hope has exclaimed were not for the faint of heart." Albedo sighed, though he seemed to be recalling an unpleasant memory before he deadpanned, "Jeffery was having a field day wherever we went to though."

"That man has balls of titanium." Charmcaster added under her breath.

"H-how about we get to the kitchen for now?" Krystal hurried to change the subject as Albedo's smile returned.

"A splendid suggestion! Let us go, we shall not keep them for long." the alien nodded, "Though before that... Any updates on Maxwell?"

Krystal suddenly hung and gently shook her head from left to right, "Nothing. He and Patelliday seem to be regaining their energy sporadically but currently they show no signs of waking up." the fox explained, "Also the tools you have on all beds say that their mental readings are stable, so no injury there... They're just recovering."

"Good. Good." Albedo nodded slowly, "That is swell, as long as nothing too major has happened to them there is hope to hold on to." a brief moment of silence hang around the group before Albedo clapped his hands together rather loudly, "Alright, let us proceed towards our meal shall we not?"

"Yeah, let's go." Charmcaster nodded with a semi enthusiastic fist pump in the air.

_**The Kitchen - Dining Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D. **_

As the group of four has entered through the double doors of the kitchen, the smell that they have felt welcoming them back home intensified by the moment. It felt pleasant and calming as they felt all their worries melt away, even though it was just a hot meal.

"Ha! Since when can you cook Ben?" Charmcaster teased a soon as she lay eyes on the boy in front of the stove, currently meddling with what seemed to be soup.

"You know with my mom's and grandpa's cooking, I needed to learn to survive on something different than junk food." Ben shrugged with a chuckle, "Welcome back. I hope it's final."

"Oh so do I Benjamin." Albedo nodded, "I hope our forever hungry teammate did not cause too much of a fuss." he raised an eyebrow as he turned towards Jeff who was sitting at the table expectantly holding up a knife and a fork, even though Ben was clearly working on soup.

"Hey! You say that like all I think about is food!" Jeff pouted.

"Should I recount the universes where you instantly sought out a form of nourishment the moment we set foot on land?" Albedo deadpanned.

"Umm. No thank you." Jeff said, seemingly apologetically as he looked at the plate in front of him and set down the utensils neatly, "You got me there." he added under his breath. Ben and Rex just chuckled at the exchange.

"And Holiday said _we_ were troublemakers." Rex laughed as he looked at Ben who shared his enthusiasm.

"Ha! Well our friends clearly haven't met Jeff." he added.

"Stop it!" Jeff snapped, "Why is everyone suddenly picking on me?"

"Because you make it easy." Ace added as he looked up from his phone like device.

Jeff proceeded to mumble angrily under his breath as he folded his arms in disbelief. The others once again shared a small laugh as things seemed to calm down.

"Alright people, food is almost ready." Ben said with a smile after taking one last sip of the contents of the pot. "Gather round."

"Yes father." Albedo joked as he took a seat gaining a glare from his counterpart.

As everyone gathered around the rather large table, that even with all of the occupants of the building taking a seat had remaining spaces, they all shared small talk and generally tried to forget just for a brief moment the grave situation that was currently their day to day life. Until the food was actually in front of everyone in their plates, they all got lost in the small serene world of the kitchen. Then again, conversation tends to pop up around the dinner table.

"Sooo, where have you guys been?" Rex sparked up and turned towards Albedo mainly.

"Yeah, tell us something!" Ace nodded enthusiastically, followed by the fox girl and even Slenderman.

"Phew, where should we even start..?" Charmcaster put a finger to her chin in wonder.

"There've been a lot of hectic places." Jeff nodded.

"Perhaps let us go in order and tell the more intriguing ones?" Albedo suggested, and the other two seemed to agree. "Hmm, well to start off our very first adventure took us to the past of a planet Earth."

"_A_ planet Earth?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell it wasn't ours?"

"Well, George Washington had no knowledge about Plumbers or aliens at all for one." Charmcaster pointed out.

"And there were no traces of alien life ever visiting, nor even existing outside of Earth. In this planet's history there have been multiple run ins that humanity of the past deemed false or just sightings, but not even a mention of a U.F.O. or the like existed in history books, nor was it mentioned by people."

"Also the Spinosaurus in the middle of a city kinda distracted us." Jeff chipped in gaining odd looks from everyone except his traveling companions, "What? It happened."

"Yes indeed." Albedo nodded, "About a week into our stay there, desperately trying to search for ways to change worlds or whatever problems may arise, a lot of screaming caught our attention... Which was soon followed by a rather guttural roar we have not heard before. A live specimen of a Spinosaurus appeared in what would later become Washington D.C." he explained, "The poor thing was utterly confused and quite obviously did not understand how it got there. When mister Washington himself arrived on the scene you should have seen the look on his face at the sight of the giant creature. I managed to help her calm down and with the generous help of the would-be president we escorted her out of the city and from prying eyes."

"How did a Spino even get into Washington?" Rex asked with raised eyebrows.

"Whilst it did take a while after the incident, in one abandoned building that has had reports of strange noises and buzzing emanating from it during some nights, we have found what seemed to be a working time machine."

"Woah, was it-"

"No!" Albedo smiled, "The strange thing is it had no trace of alien technology, it was based on the technology capability of the current era and was put together with precision... Yet it worked like a charm." he chuckled, "To my insistence to prove I was not going 'mad' as the president put it he reluctantly tried the machine and curiously we ended up in the Cretaceous period, much to the shock of Mr. Washington."

"You took George Washington to the Cretaceous... Dude." Ben went wide eyed, "I thought me fighting Vilgax with the man was something."

"To be fair, it was not the same person." Albedo shrugged as Ben chuckled, "Nevertheless we soon sent the dinosaur back to her own timeline, and whilst we never found out about the creator of the machine, Washington took custody of it, saying it belonged to an anonymous creator who did a great service, and I am pretty sure that Earth became a rather advanced planet earlier than this one will be. The portal's appearance had us drop the bomb on the poor man that we were in fact from a parallel world."

"The thing is though, George said he had an inkling that something was off!" Jeff chipped in, "The man's a beast."

"No matter what world huh." Rex smiled.

Soon after this story, with their food finished everyone sat around just listening to the trio tell their tales one after another. About a weird clown monster infested spaceship in a parallel future. A world where primates were the dominant life and there were no humans around. One which was a planet with no intelligent life on it. A tale of a 'beached' space whale they had returned to, well, space. A rather dystopian future where Germany has won World War II. One after the other stories kept piling up, one more different than the other, none of them even a little bit related to the others, yet everyone kept listening. Their knowledge about the apparent multiverse just kept increasing with each story.

"Then we met this little girl." Charmcaster continued.

"Hold on, a little girl?" Rex asked.

"Yeah! She was the cutest little thing..." the sorceress continued, "Until her hair turned into blades and she attacked us."

"Excusemewat." Ben quickly splurted out as he and the others looked at the girl dumbfounded.

"Indeed, she looked about 11-12 years old at best, but the eyes of her clearly said that she wished we were gone." Albedo explained, "As it turned out however, without knowing much about her, she was an assassin specifically created to be a living weapon. My stomach turned at the thought of having a child do their dirty work for them, however by that point the organization was apparently already gone. Nevertheless, even when we talked the little one seemed like an emotionless doll who did not question anything she was ordered to do, it was sad to see, but ultimately we could do naught but stand to the side. Nonetheless we talked for quite a bit, and below all that emotionless facade she seemed to really be just that, a little girl. I did not know the details, and we felt it was not our place to ask, but she also seemed quite distant... Soon after we left through the portal, not gaining anything from that meeting, or so we thought back then. After a multitude of other worlds, we seemed to end up on a different Earth once more, seemingly everything normal."

"I really don't like when _you_ use 'seemingly' nowadays." Ben shuddered, causing the alien to chuckle.

"I understand." he smiled, "Nevertheless, once making sure we did not stand out like a sore thumb we walked around a rather bustling little city, somewhere in Japan if I recall... And that is when it happened."

"We met again." Charmcaster smiled.

"The changes were suuuper wild though!" Jeff added.

"Indeed," Albedo nodded, "It was the same little girl, no doubt, however perhaps not so little anymore. It seemed like a good chunk of time had passed since our last visit, and I was not sure if she would even recognize me. Yet, all these so-called fears melted away as soon as she saw us. A small smile seemed to have forked its way onto her face as she ran over to us." the alien seemed to be fond of the memory, "She still had the same stoic demeanor soon after but she almost felt... liberated. We once again talked about a lot of things, and then she told us about a target of hers... yet, she seemed to be conflicted."

"Conflicted how?" Rex raised an eyebrow, "You said she was some sort of man-made assassin no?"

"Yeah." Charmcaster nodded, "Yet here she was in front of us, fiddling with the possibility of why she should even do the deed."

"And then she asked us for advice." Jeff chipped in again, "Like what am I supposed to do? Tell her how to make people sleep?"

'_So he is aware that 'sleeping' is in fact killing people._' Albedo, Ben, Rex and Ace thought in unison.

"I thought myself inadequate to answer such questions, but with her curious face I just could not refuse, so we gave her some advice." Albedo gained a glare from Ben and Rex, "Not like that, we just nudged her to think what would be the best option for her to choose. Her eyes almost seemed to sparkle as we gave her options to talk about. Then she told us she had somewhere to be, and left, but not before giving us a piece of food in the shape of a fish, some sort of cookie I would presume, I am not quite familiar with Japan's culture."

"Well, all in all this is a pretty 'in a nutshell' description of us meeting little Yami, a lot more happened obviously with her, but that would take too much time to explain."

"Hmm," Albedo put a finger to his chin, "On the off chance that the worse were to happen, I feel it is needed to show you some of my memories of the meeting." he declared as he walked over to everyone else and in a matter of seconds transferred his memories of the events. "If you were to mee-" however the others stopped and just looked at the three, "Is... Is there a problem?"

"She's adorable!" Ben, Rex shouted in unison, quite unlike their usual personalities. Krystal however also cheered the same.

"Kinda makes you wanna protect her, even though you said she's quite capable of that." Ace chipped in.

"Haha, yes. I believe if she ever meets people she can trust as friends, she will be quite capable of opening up."

"And by the 'worst to happen' you meant... the portal right?" Ben raised an eyebrow with a sigh.

"Indeed, whether it will be this world, or one some of you might end up visiting down the line, look out for her, for my sake."

"Hah, you don't even have to ask bud." Rex nodded. "That's kinda our job anyway."

After a short bit of talking about different topics, the trio went back to their remaining adventures, telling them in detail about all of them. Including some vampires on a sunken pirate ship, and a submarine on the Moon. Another different world where the only difference was the sky being green and vegetation being blue. A planet of arachnids, that have never seen bipedal creatures before. A random portal which took them to the middle of Anur Khufos interestingly. Nevertheless, whilst the multiple of adventures took place during the span of four months, or from the trio's perspective even more time occasionally, the story time lasted deep into the night with no one realizing how late it has gotten.

'_Perhaps it is time for all of you to turn in?_' Slenderman suggested, '_It is not suggested for all you young folk to stay up too late... especially within our situation._'

"I agree." Ben nodded, "We never know now what the future may bring."

"I'm done." Jeff sighed as he took a step but fell forward onto the ground, with a loud thud. "Oh, apparently I can't move."

"C'mon I'll carry ya." Rex offered as he helped him onto his shoulder and the two left the room, "Night peeps."

"Same to you all as well." Albedo smiled. "I shall take care of one last thing, Hope, if you could come with me for a moment?"

"Hmm? Sure."

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D. **_

"So, what did you want?" the sorceress asked, wiping her eyes gently, apparently trying her hardest to stay awake.

"Could you contact Gwendolyn for me?"

"This late?"

"If what Benjamin told me about his dearest cousin is true, than I believe she is up and about even this late."

"If you say so." the sorceress shrugged as she spread her hands apart, both of them glowing magenta in seconds as the television once again took on the same color scheme and a place appeared on screen.

"Hello! Anybody around this time?"

"_Hmm?_" came a feminine voice from the other side, and in a matter of seconds, as Albedo had predicted the redhead cousin of Ben showed up in front of whatever surface the comm-portal appeared on.

"Splendid! Good night to you Gwendolyn!"

"_Albedo! Charmc-_"she stopped once she gained a half-asleep glare from Charmcaster, "_Hope! Why are you calling this late?_" Gwen asked once she corrected herself.

"I am quite surprised you are so happy to see me." Albedo teased.

"_Hah, if it was 5 months ago, I would be as well._"Gwen shrugged, "_Anyway, what's up?_"

"I was wondering if you would mind if I popped over for a second." Albedo cheerfully smiled before it turned into a serious frown, "I want to see how your situation is currently."

"_Well, it's not that I mind or anything, but how exactly do you plan to get here with the barrier in place still?_" the redhead raised an eyebrow in question.

"If you would stand aside for a moment." Albedo smiled with closed eyes as Gwen did as she was told, in the last seconds whilst she was in frame she seemed to recall why exactly Albedo asked her to do that, "Thank you for your help Hope, you should probably head to sleep."

"Right-o. Was about to do that." she nodded as she left slowly.

Albedo turned back towards the screen and looked over every detail present. In a matter of seconds, and with the added flair of his fingers snapping, he disappeared only to appear moments later on the television screen.

_**Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

"Ha! This went smoother than expected." Albedo chuckled as he dusted himself off, "Greetings!" he added with a cheery salute.

"For just that small second I forgot that you can do that." Gwen sighed, holding her forehead. "Hello, it's been a while." she held out her hand with a smile, which Albedo shook without hesitation.

"It certainly has." he smiled as he looked around for a couple seconds, "How have things been whilst I have not been around?"

"At the beginning it was quite hectic, as you can probably imagine, with everyone struggling to adjust... But four months is still four months, we are getting better and better as the days go by, all things considered. Morale is still high for the moment."

"That is great to hear." Albedo smiled as he looked around again, this time in more detail. He was currently in a rather spacious room, about the same size as their Lounge. The walls were made of solid metal, with vents spaced evenly throughout the sides. A large carpet resided in the middle of the room, and on it stood an enormous table with a multitude of chairs, upon further inspection of the room, the alien's suspicions of this room being similar to a dining room held true. "Quite a place."

"You've only seen one room." Gwen laughed.

"And it _is _impressive." he smiled back, "And you say this was a colony already existing before this whole fiasco started? Inside the Pacific Ocean. Quite the place to hide a location like this one."

"Yeah we were really surprised when we finally got here." Gwen nodded, "It's a lot larger than it appears at first. Plus, there are a lot of rooms we still don't have a use for, which is quite nice."

"Interesting." the alien smiled as he started walking around, "Mind coming with me? Provided you do not have an important task to do this late in the night?"

"Nothing much, I was mainly organizing the dining hall, it's quite a mess when most of us get in here."

"Ha! I can imagine, it is quite troublesome with just how many people we have back home, not to mention a whole colony." the two shared a small laugh as they left the confines of the dining room.

As soon as they took one step outside of it though, Albedo's eyes started wondering again, marveling at how large this place seemed. It would not have been an overstatement to call it an underwater city. It seemed to have glass covering it at the top which allowed anyone to see the sea and its inhabitants.

"Is that actual glass?"

"No, no." Gwen shook her head, "It's something similar to one way glass, from the outside it appears as the ocean floor, whilst from inside you can see."

"That is splendid." Albedo smiled, "It is best to stay hidden."

"Agreed."

"I would never have thought you would walk by my side Gwendolyn, without any animosity I might add."

"What can I say? People do say that life works in mysterious ways." Gwen shrugged, "Perhaps we just never tried to speak to each other like civilized people."

"I never really gave you lot a reason to do so did I?" Albedo sighed, his shoulders drooping.

"Hey, chin up! That's all in the past, and you have done a lot more good to us in the recent past than ever before. You are making up for all of it."

"All you Tennysons just say the same things to me." Albedo laughed, "It feels nice." he added under his breath.

"It's a family agreement then." Gwen shrugged again. "So, how do you think this place looks?"

"It is as safe as it can be in the current conditions I would say." Albedo smiled, "And you have managed to get most people around Bellwood into here which is a marvel in and of itself. I assume most are already sound asleep?"

"Oh no! Mostly the children and some of the elderly. A lot of people are volunteering on helping out with whatever they can, whenever they can. After we filled them in on what actually is happening, most people who knew grandpa and some of the Plumbers personally got understandably upset. Yet obviously we cannot even enter Bellwood, even if they were able to do anything. So instead, they had to make peace with our living conditions and chose to help out everyone here."

"I see." Albedo nodded as he looked towards what seemed to be a rather large farming area, where people and aliens alike were tending to the crops even now, causing a question to pop into the white haired teen's mind, "Say, what was this colony originally housing?"

"It was, well still is, a group of Cerebrocrustaceans and interestingly Piscciss Volanns." Gwen recounted, surprisingly, to Albedo at least, not fumbling the crab like alien species' name once, "Not a group you see merging everyday."

"Truly, what a strange combination." Albedo nodded musingly, "Then again it is great to have such powers on our side. Well, _your_ side."

"I still am thankful that they took us all in, a lot of others feel the same way, which is mainly why they are helping."

"Reminds me of what I am trying to-" he then suddenly stopped talking as he looked ahead on the corridor.

"Albedo?"

"Say, did you recruit two obnoxious snakes as well?"

"Snakes?" Gwen raised an eyebrow as she herself looked ahead and saw two, rather large snakes slithering their way, "What the?"

A vein seemed to be throbbing intensely on Albedo's forehead as Gwen saw two pair of pale purple spider legs extend out of his back, much to her surprise. She was used to seeing Ben transform to literally everything imaginable, but this one was a bit out there.

"What exactly are those?"

"An evolved Arachnichimp's legs." Albedo explained.

"Oh, right, you can still evolve the aliens... But how exactly did you do this? Wasn't Spidermonkey a six-legged gorilla last time you evolved him?"

"Apparently, just as there are many dimensions around as we came to find out recently, evolution paths diverge as well. I messed up in calibrating the replica Ultimatrix last time and it evolved the Arachnichimp, Spidermonkey you called it, into a different form. Since I no longer possess the device it reverted to the original path, or so it would seem."

"That's intriguing." Gwen honestly smiled with a finger on her chin. Albedo just smiled widely.

"Ha! Truly a wonder you are Miss Tennyson." he declared, "Nevertheless, as I have said since I do not have a device to help me transform with and I thus am required to do it with my own raw power, I had to learn partial transformation to avoid overexerting myself... Thus the spider legs." the alien explained, "You have to admit they are quite intimidating are they not?"

"You got me there." Gwen shrugged with a chuckle.

Albedo did the same before his expression turned into a scowl, "Very well, if you would excuse me I am going to skewer some stragglers." he declared, his face not hiding his annoyance one bit, Gwen however was as confused as she could be.

"Skewer? Wait!" she snapped out of her confusion as she put a hand to Albedo's shoulder, "What do you mean?! Who are they?"

Albedo let out a lengthy sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose then looked Gwen straight in the eyes, "Arnas and Etala."

Indeed, it was the same pair of idiotic yet strangely intelligent alien snakes. The one with a top hat and a monocle, holding his head high as if trying to intimidate others with his presence, and the one with a blue bandana around her neck, acting like a queen on a tour. Interestingly enough however the two seemed a lot smaller than when Albedo met them in the other world, around the same size as the resident alien crabs. Gwen let him go as she recalled Ben enthusiastically talk about how the two of them were the most annoying creatures he had ever met a while back, then she even read the Plumbers' files on them and agreed. And somehow, internally she knew that they would not actually be made into snake kebabs, even with Albedo menacingly walking towards them with spider legs at the ready.

"Oh my, what a blunder Etala!" Arnas shuddered, apparently bewildered, "We have no idea where we are!"

"I know Arnas! I know, but we will find out soon enough! As long as we don't have those pesky ap-"

"Etala?" Arnas turned towards his mate, slightly off put by the sudden silence and soon after by the horrified expression frozen onto her face, "Etala, dear? Speak to me! What is i-" as if he was feeling an aura of danger he immediately turned around, only to come face to face with Albedo, giving them the same smile as he did four months ago back in the Forest of Death. "Oh lord." he hastily muttered under his breath.

"Hello to you two!" Albedo declared cheerfully, his face not once changing, "To what might we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Arnas began nervously chuckling, "Haha, well, to be quite honest with you old chap we have no idea where we are! Such a blunder!"

Etala seemed to calm down somewhat as well, even with the sharp end of a spider leg pointed at her face, "We awoke here suddenly, not even sure how. Thanks to our marvelous skills, no one seemed to notice us... yet. Or until now more like."

Albedo let the transformation go as he just raised an eyebrow, "You two just... ended up here? Out of nowhere?"

"Y-yes!" Arnas nodded vigorously, "After our last meeting in that awful forest, that professor chap took us back to our planet and all was swell for the following months."

'_So at least that part was an actual dimension travel._' Albedo sighed inwardly in relief, that at least some part of his initial misadventure was true and not just a simulation.

"But then out of nowhere we felt a strong chill and next thing we knew was that we blacked out... then boom! We are here! Where is _here_ anyway?"

"You two imbeciles are on Earth." Albedo sighed, "And if you ended up here randomly, then it must mean the portal got to you two again. Quite curious."

"Portal? Ah, perhaps that is why we did not remember going to a parallel world even back then!" Etala surmised, "If it was the same as now, we might have been knocked out back then as well."

"Perhaps." Albedo nodded, "Perhaps it has a different effect on idiotic space snakes. Nonetheless, do _not_ try to get out of here. The Plumbers will kill you, not that it would matter much in the long run anyhow to us."

"K-kill?" Arnas nervously laughed, "Surely you jest! The red spots would never k-kill anyone!"

"That was in the past." Gwen chipped in as she joined them, "Sadly the 'Red Spots' are under new management."

"Gwen Tennyson?" Arnas asked as he turned towards Albedo, "And you? What is this?"

"I have told you, you dumb space noodle, things are changing." Albedo groaned, "We are all changing accordingly is all. Unless you do not wish to survive."

"So we _are_ going to die if we leave this place. Duly noted!" Arnas shuddered as he collapsed on the floor, "I shall now live my life as floor."

Gwen and Albedo collectively facepalmed, "I am starting to get what Ben meant." Gwen groaned as well.

"We... we can help out!" Etala shakily offered as Albedo just raised an eyebrow.

"_You?_ What can you two possibly do that could in any way be of any help?"

"Ah yes! Nice my dear Etala!" Arnas rose from the ground in triumphant glory, using his tail as if he was pointing to the sky with an index finger, "We are a species that dabbles in illusions, yes? Perhaps we could be of assistance were there ever to be an attack on this lovely place?"

"Hah, that is the best joke you have told yet." Albedo said dumbfounded.

"We are quite serious mister!" Etala pleaded, "We... we might not be the best at making plans, but we are great in following them!"

"So, you're saying that if we ordered you to do things you would do them?" Gwen asked with a raised an eyebrow.

"Precisely so my lady!" Arnas nodded vigorously, yet his top hat showed no sign of falling off. "We are quite capable." a shrewd smile seemed to form on his scaly face.

"As much as it pains me to say, they really are without pair in making illusions... However..."

"We will have to put up with them, huh?" Gwen sighed, "Great. No matter what we do we still can't send them outside, so I guess we'll have to make a deal.

"On the off chance that they were to do something ridiculous, just give me a call." Albedo smiled sinisterly as he turned towards the two snakes who shuddered in fear.

"Of course." Gwen smiled as well, but the rather innocent looking smile creeped the two alien snakes out even more, as the two were visibly shaking.

"You two!" Albedo shouted as the two snakes snapped to attention with makeshift tail salutes.

"Y-yes sir!" they said in a shaky unison.

"I _truly_ hope you make yourselves useful, am I making myself understood?" he asked as he put his hands behind his back.

"Yes sir!"

"You can find some work suitable for you from Paul over there." Gwen chipped in pointing to a rather buff man next to a nearby 'shop' of sorts.

"Understood!" they hastily said as they scurried off.

"You handled that like a champ." Gwen teasingly praised the alien.

"I was _this_ close to tying them into each other again." he sighed.

Gwen chuckled at the thought before her face adapted a horrified expression, "...Wait, again?" however Albedo was quick to move on.

The two moved along on the large corridor with the former Galvan marveling at the sheer size and expertise of the building. The creativity behind the design was intriguing him all the more. He complimented how it was capable of feeding a large colony of differing creatures to the foreseeable future without fail.

"Would it be a problem if I popped in from time to time?" Albedo asked genuinely, turning towards the redhead, "I feel it would help ease everyone's tensions back home as well if we at least had a way to procure fresh edibles."

"Sure! Just bring Ben along sometime okay? I miss the dweeb somewhat."

Albedo laughed, "I shall try my best."

"Hey look... Can I ask you about grandpa?" Gwen fidgeted for a couple seconds before facing the alien.

"He is in no mortal danger let me assure you." Albedo sighed, "But as you have probably heard, even in the past four months he, nor Patelliday, has not awoken. But as it seems he suffered no mental damage only the obvious effects of starvation which are quite severe for someone his age." Gwen seemed downtrodden by the response, "Nevertheless you shall not fear for anything. Your grandfather is a man that was built to last, surely he will be up and about in a moment's time, helping wherever he can."

"Haha, that's grandpa alright." Gwen nodded, put a hand to her chest and sighed deeply, "Thanks for that. For getting him out and taking care of him and all."

"Of course." Albedo smiled, "I owe it to you all... Besides, the real me could never leave someone like that behind."

"The _real_ you huh?"

"Forgive me, slip of the tongue." Albedo hastily derailed the conversation and turned away from Gwen before she could continue to pry, "Ah, what is this?" he asked turning towards a rather large room of sorts. Interestingly, the metal walls were colored a pale white with a light peach color stripe running horizontally close to the ground decorating it.

"Ah, that is the medical bay." Gwen smiled, "Doctor Carranza should still be inside."

"Do you mind if I-"

"Go ahead." Gwen chuckled.

_**Medical Bay, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

True to the Anodite's word, the good doctor was sitting on a chair inside the large and spacious room, looking over a multitude of documents as the two entered the confines of the Medical Bay. To their surprise however, a certain black-haired car enthusiast was inside with bandages around his left arm.

"Well, you two aren't exactly the duo I expected to see." Kevin chuckled, catching the doctor's attention as well as he looked up from his papers.

"Good night to you as well Kevin." Albedo smiled, "Whatever did you do to get into this situation?"

"Maybe a shelf fell on me, maybe it did not. One will never know." Kevin's eyes darted around the room once he noticed Gwen glaring at him, before she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Didn't I especially tell you to take care of yourself better you big oaf?" she walked over to inspect the arm.

"It's nothing major babe." Kevin tried but failed to reassure his girlfriend.

"It is just a bruise currently, but you probably shouldn't strain it for at least a little while Kevin." David chided. "Albedo! It's good to see you again. You ran off last time."

"Ah yes doctor, I was somewhat preoccupied, my sincere apologies." the alien bowed as he said, "Have you and your family been well?"

"Thanks to you we have." David smiled, "I can't thank you enough for t-"

"No, thank you. I did what I thought was right, no need to thank me."

"Still, how exactly did you get in here?" Kevin asked, his thoughts not clicking as fast as Gwen's did.

In a matter of seconds Albedo disappeared only to reappear in front of Kevin and Gwen, "I teleported of course!" he declared matter-of-factly.

"Okay, that's still cool." Kevin admitted as he recalled the conversation before Max was freed. "How can I do that?"

"Get killed by Slenderman and reviv-" Albedo's eyes went wide, "Oh wait."

"Yeah, not doing that. Ever." Kevin deadpanned.

"Well, to be perfectly fair, it would be weird if you could do it Kevin." Albedo deadpanned as well. "Nevermind that, I have to say, lovely place all of you have set up here."

"Thanks, we do try." David chuckled.

"Except for the snakes."

"Snakes?" Kevin raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Arnas and Etala." Gwen and Albedo chorused in pain. Kevin's eyes just drooped, much the same as he was with Argit.

"Are those two here?! Oh, for the love of..."

"Exactly my reaction." Albedo nodded, "Nonetheless, on the threat of being turned into shoes they seem to have warmed up to the idea of helping."

"Those two and 'help' somehow don't fit in the same sentence." Kevin shuddered.

"I, as well, truly hope you can cope with them." Albedo bowed apologetically. "I think it is time to leave you to your devices, is there anything else I should see?"

"Perhaps t-" Gwen however was interrupted by the same buff man from before, Paul, rushing into the room.

"Gwen! There you are! We have visitors!"

"Visitors?" Gwen, Albedo and Kevin looked together in confused unison. After a brief exchange of silent gazes, Gwen spoke up, turning towards Albedo.

"I would ask you to stay here, in case our 'visitors' are from the few remaining Plumbers outside not under the main branch's control, seeing how they probably have no idea about your side change and all but..."

"You know very well I will not do that, is that it?" Albedo grinned as Gwen just sighed.

"Yeah, just like Ben."

"In his defense, they do share the DNA." Kevin shrugged as Albedo just chuckled.

"We do indeed!" he then turned towards the door of the Medical Bay, "Shall we?"

_**Main Foyer, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Two people stood in the entrance to the Main Foyer, surrounded by a multitude of humans, Cerebrocrustaceans and some Piscciss Volann who looked at them in relative confusion, especially since they specifically requested Gwen. One of them was an older man, possibly in his 60s, with his hair tied into a small ponytail. He wore a brown coat with white fur on its sleeves and around its collar, over a yellow shirt with green leaves on it. He wore a bluish-gray pair of jeans with brown boots. Next to him stood a young lady, around the same age as Ben, with long dark hair tied into a large ponytail, tan earrings adorning her ears. She wore green shorts with thigh pouches on each leg and a utility belt, along with a red and white sweater and brown gloves. Her brown eyes were darting around the place much the same as Albedo's did half an hour prior. They soon after landed on a certain redhead approaching them along with the black-haired mechanic, the man next to her took note of their arrival as well.

Gwen's eyes went wide as soon as she saw who stood at the door of their safe haven. Kevin on the other hand was a tad bit confused as he had never met the two guests, but he judged by Gwen's expression that they were at least friendly.

"Kai! Mr. Wes!" Gwen ecstatically exclaimed as the girl at the door, Kai, suddenly smiled from ear to ear as well.

"Gwen! Do you know how hard it was to reach you guys?!"

"Yeah, being under the Pacific Ocean has its perks." Kevin sarcastically joined in on their conversation, "Sup, I'm Kevin."

"Kevin, this is Kai Green and her grandfather Wes Green." Gwen introduced the duo.

"Oh yeah! You're Wes?" Kevin grinned, "Max told me a lot about you a while back."

"Hah, the pleasure is all mine Kevin." Wes grinned as well, extending a hand which Kevin shook, "Still to think you were forced to evacuate this far... How could we have let this happen..?"

"Mr. Wes, please don't blame yourself over this. We were all caught off guard, and this Clyde took that opportunity for all of this."

"Still, we as Plumbers let that happen, we can't stop until he is out of the picture..." Wes sighed, "How is Max? Is he here?"

"Grandpa Max is still recuperating." Gwen revealed, "He has not woken up for the past four months..." she looked at the ground sadly, "Also, no, he's not here... He's with friends."

"Friends?" Wes raised an eyebrow, not liking the way Gwen phrased that.

"Well yes, that would be me." a voice came from behind them as Gwen audibly gulped. Wes and Kai smiled at the sound of the voice, Kai even getting somewhat flustered... that is until its owner actually revealed himself, coming up from behind Gwen and Kevin, "Greetings!"

Kai's eyes went wide at the person in front of him, who looked so much like the hero she knew, yet so different... However, Wes on the other hand was quick to point a rifle at him without a moment's hesitation.

"Grandpa! Could you not point a gun at Ben?!" Kai snapped, though somewhat confused herself.

"Oh, that is not Ben darling." Wes shook his head with a scowl.

"He is right you know?" Albedo smiled as he disappeared in a matter of seconds, reappearing seconds later next to Wes and taking the gun out of his hand and throwing it away, soon after he leaned in close to Kai who became flustered once again and a small blush appeared on her cheeks, "So _you_ are Kai Green!" that sentence was all it took for the blush to disappear and for it to be replaced with utter confusion, "Benjamin has told me a _lot_ about you, dear."

"How did yo-" Wes stuttered on his question as Albedo felt a pair of eyes burning through him causing him to turn to his left as Gwen looked at him with her hands on her hips, a scowl on her face.

"Hey, you knew I could not pass up such an opportunity!" he shrugged as he appeared next to Gwen in a flash once more. "Once again, this time without a gun, hello! My name is Albedo."

"Albedo..?" Kai muttered under her breath.

"What is he doing here?!" Wes snapped, having not met him personally before, the old Plumber new the Galvan's report and most of the things he had tried to do, but ultimately failed.

"As I said..." Gwen sighed, but then followed it up with a small smile, "He's our 'friend' in question."

"Quite so." Albedo nodded, adopting a more serious expression, "Perhaps you would be keen on hearing me out rather than trying to shoot me? Ultimately it would be futile anyway, and we have much to discuss rather than point shooty sticks at each other. Be thankful we need the firepower lest I would have snapped the thing in two."

"Albedo..." Gwen sighed.

"Hmm?" the alien turned towards the redhead with a raised eyebrow, "Did I perchance use too much of my old condescending persona there?"

"If you count 85% as too much." Kevin sighed.

"Ah, yes, perhaps I did go a tad bit overboard." Albedo sheepishly chuckled, "Nevertheless, if you would be so keen on following these two so we can talk in peace perhaps? Put animosity aside for the rest of the day?"

"Fine, alright." Wes nodded then turned towards Gwen, "If you trust him, then for now I will too."

"That is all I ask Magister Green." Albedo smiled as he turned around and started walking forward, his hands behind his back.

"I knew this would happen..." Gwen sighed.

"Hey babe, you and I both know we couldn't have stopped him." Kevin chuckled, "Plus, you gotta admit, the reactions were priceless!"

"Kevin!"

"What? It's true." Kevin shrugged as he followed Albedo on their way towards what would be a conference room, in a matter of seconds the two got to talking, surprising Gwen that Kevin could hit it off so well immediately with Albedo.

'_Then again, they synchronized really well when we escaped together as well..._' she mused.

_**Gwen's 'Office', Conference Room, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

"You did not tell me you were in possession of an office Gwendolyn!" Albedo smiled wildly in marvel.

"She kinda got made into an honorary leader." Kevin explained.

"Much to my discomfort." Gwen admitted, "Still, you can't just leave all of them to themselves."

"You are fit for the role, at least in my opinion." Albedo admitted.

"That's one more thing we agree on!" Kevin nodded.

"One _more_?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"It seems that since I started dabbling in increasing my knowledge about vehicles the past years, me and Kevin share a lot in common." the alien clarified, "It is always nice to talk with someone about similar interests." he then heard a cough from behind them, reminding him of their purpose inside the room, "Ah yes, forgive me Mr. Green, but before we get into it in detail, I feel a little bit of self introduction is in order since Ms. Green seems utterly confused."

"Go on." Wes nodded with folded arms.

"Now then, my name is Albedo. I am originally from the planet Galvan and through a series of poor life decisions I have been stuck in the body of Ben Tennyson for about two and a half years now, with the added flair of an inverted color scheme. Why your grandfather acted that way around me is... because I have a not so pleasant history with the Plumbers you see? The old ones I mean. Is that enough for an explanation Ms. Green?"

"Y-yes." Kai nodded awkwardly, "But could you please stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"The whole 'Miss' business? It feels weird for Ben to be calling me that."

"Ah, I understand." Albedo smiled, "Benjamin did say some pleasant things about you when the topic popped up so I shall honor that request." he turned his attention to the veteran Plumber, "Now then, I believe you have knowledge of Benjamin and co.'s travel around the universe for the past year?" Wes nodded in response, "Now, in that time, my depressed self got released from my forced labor in the Null Void and have faded into the darkness for the most part. Shortly after their return they, with the exception of a certain sorceress got captured by the new Plumber forces and kept for a good while. Maxwell and a multitude of rebelling old Plumbers were captured and promptly tortured. Maxwell himself has been starved and kept on the bare minimum to survive, he is currently resting in our hideout, but as was previously said has not woken up for the past four months since his escape. He _will_ wake up in due time however so for now there is no need for too much concern. Now, about the time when Benjamin was captured I myself, beyond my knowledge have been trapped in a simulated world that seemed much the same to the real one... However, on a faithful day four months ago I have temporarily broken free of the simulation by entering a parallel world."

"A parallel world?" Wes repeated in question with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "During my time there I have met with Charmcaster and together we thought up a way to return to our world... However unbeknownst to us our return would immediately result in me returning to the simulated world, whilst Charmcaster having revealed her location with this action promptly got captured as well. The things I have experienced in this alternate world along with the simulated version of the people you know... Suffice to say I have had my eyes open to all that I have done wrong since a certain time in my past." Albedo continued to explain his meeting with Rex and their initial escape from Plumber captivity, which Kevin and Gwen testified to, and thus their initial agreement to trust their former enemy.

"You missed a crucial detail there bud." Kevin pointed out, as Albedo raised an eyebrow and so did Wes, this time however much calmer. He seemed to remember the dates Albedo had mentioned and compared it to their info which matched. All the details connected, he had no more reason to doubt the Galvan too much. Still he decided to make a final decision after seeing himself that he could be trusted, yet this one claim from Kevin raised his interests. As Albedo turned to Kevin, he saw the man do a throat slitting motion as the message seemed to immediately click for Albedo.

"Ah, of course! That one is kind of important."

"'Kind of.'" Gwen did air quotes in response.

"So, well in my time in that other dimension, during our first try to return home... I have perished."

"What?" Kai and Wes echoed in confused unison.

"I have forgotten to mention that during my time in that world I have realized that I now shared my body with a certain individual you might find alarming."

"Go on." Wes urged as Albedo's eyes turned jet black, surprising him greatly.

"_Well, yes, that is just about the reaction we should expect is it not?_" Death's ethereal voice echoed from Albedo's mouth.

"You two are enjoying this aren't you?" Kevin chuckled.

"_Perhaps a little bit._" the Horseman chuckled, "_Greetings from me as well, my name is Death as you would call me._"

"Death?!" Kai snapped, "The Grim Reaper?"

"_The one and the same! I am delighted that there is not much need for further explanation._" his eyes turned back to white and red, "Yes... He is the one who I know share my body with."

"You merged... with the Grim Reaper?" Wes seemed to be having a tough time collecting his thoughts, but honestly no one could blame the old man.

"Indeed, it was a shocking experience for me too. Nonetheless back on the topic, I have died that time, but apparently thanks to Death being a part of me now, I resurrected... And that is when we realized a strange and truly horrifying ability I came to be in possession of."

"W-what is it?" Kai reluctantly asked, this all being a bit too much too suddenly for her.

"I seem to copy a particular characteristic or ability of the thing or the person who ended me. And I am as of that moment immortal in the truest sense of the word."

"That's a lot to take in." Kai admitted, though apparently not deterred by the fact that a person in front of him claimed to be immortal.

"Indeed, and I am sorry to spring it onto you all so suddenly." Albedo nodded. "I hope this is enough information to make me trustworthy to you too as well, even if just on the surface for now."

"Well of all the things, I did not expect this today that's for sure." Wes chuckled nervously as he held his head. "But if you are willing to share this much with two complete strangers to you, I got to hand it to you." he admitted, "Fine, I'll trust you."

"Thank you." Albedo humbly bowed, "Now about that portal we mentioned in relation to everything."

"There has been a weird portal popping up from place to place since the first time Albedo said he disappeared." Kevin explained, "And according to him, it can open literally everywhere in the multiverse."

"How vast are we talking here?" Wes asked.

"Well, Slenderman is an ally for us now." Kevin shrugged as Kai and Wes just stared at him blankly.

"Seriously?" Kai asked after a couple seconds of piercing silence.

Albedo teleported next to her in a moment's notice, startling her again, "How else do you think I can freely teleport Kai?" he smiled.

"Don't. Do. That." she slowly said in between deep breaths.

"Apologies." the alien chuckled. '_I seem to be picking up the weird habits along with the abilities._' he mused in his thoughts.

"Wait, but that means..." Wes adopted a horrified expression.

"Yes, in another series of misunderstandings I have died at the hands of the mythical figure you know as the Slenderman, but let us not delve into the details." Albedo shrugged, "For now the bigger question however, is what you two will be doing?"

"What do you mean?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know that your loved ones, or even you yourselves are involved in this whole ordeal, I get that but we cannot act recklessly."

"Indeed." Wes nodded in agreement, "Once we heard the whole thing after everything happened, we wanted to rush over as fast as we could but the new Plumbers are fearfully effective. We had to travel to a multitude of underground or secret passages to even get to Bellwood's general vicinity... I would like to help of course, but just as Albedo says we are currently best suited to help here."

"Grandpa!" Kai deadpanned.

"Kai, I can assure you with my all that Benjamin is in no danger, and currently since the barrier is still in effect it is better if I do not abuse my teleportation ability too much lest they find our location." Albedo placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "But hey, maybe I can bring him over sometimes?" Kai seemed to quiet at the thought as she was now lost in her own thoughts.

"Oh right, I wanted to ask: What have you been up to since helping Max out?" Wes questioned.

"I have been going from portal to portal the last four months, visiting different worlds in the hopes of finding a possible source for the phenomena with no success. I have met a lot of different people and made friends but that hardly helps our current situation." Albedo sighed. "Albeit I at least have a general idea of how the portal seems to function now."

"Isn't that good though?" Kevin asked.

"Perhaps. That is yet to be determined however." Albedo shrugged. "It is awfully late, I advise you two get some res-" Albedo's sentence however was soon interrupted by everyone in front of him going quiet and looking at him with shock... No, they weren't looking at him, they were looking behind him.

'_Albedo..._' the ethereal but deep voice of Slenderman resounded from behind Albedo, causing him to turn around, his face in a frown. '_We have a situation._' he declared. The alien let out a deep and lengthy sigh.

"How bad is it?"

'_Nothing major has happened yet, as it opened about 2 minutes ago... But it stayed, it does not seem to want to close._'

"Hmm, intriguing." Albedo mused before feeling like he forgot about something. It took him about five seconds to turn around and still see the other four stare at the tall man in awe. Well Kevin and Gwen were staring in awe, Kai and Wes were shocked out of their minds.

"Dude, you're even more impressive in person." Kevin commented after a couple more seconds of silence.

'_Oh my, that is a first._' Slenderman chuckled, '_Greetings! My most sincere apologies on the rude entrance however this matter is of the utmost importance._'

Albedo just looked at Gwen, his eyes showing sadness as the redhead just shrugged, "Just go." she smiled, "We can pick this up later."

"Haha, thank you, and apologies." Albedo nodded as he and the tall man disappeared in a flash.

"I feel like things will never be the same for us from now on." Gwen sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Tell me about it." Kevin fell back into his chair with a sigh, but still taking care not to hurt his left arm.

"If it's not too much bother, could you fill us in in greater detail in the morning?" Wes asked, his face still somewhat blank, "I think this was enough for a night."

"I feel you." Kevin nodded, "Morning, same place?"

"Sure." Kai nodded, as Gwen got up and lead the two out to their new quarters.

"What exactly _is_ going to happen from now on?" Kevin inwardly sighed as he inadvertently fell asleep on the table soon after his thought.

_**Alright, the second Arc is officially started, albeit a bit late because of some IRL matters, sorry about that.**_

_**Nonetheless, we are done with the official prologue (Arc I) and the prologue for Arc II, so as far as I am concerned, we are in the thick of it now. Thanks for reading this far!**_  
_**See you soon, hopefully anyways.**_


	2. The Other Side - Part 1

_**So, this chapter turned out longer than I initially expected, as such I did the only reasonable thing. I made it longer and split it into two, like anyone else would have done.**_

Chapter 2: The Other Side

Part 1

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

A beautiful, semi-pale blue full moon illuminated the empty Lounge, the room itself filled with serene silence. Soon after however, in a matter of seconds two figures, that of Albedo and Slenderman, appeared in the darkness of the Lounge in a hurry, where everyone more than likely was already fast asleep. As soon as he opened his eyes, confirming that he and his tall friend had indeed arrived at the desired location, the alien began walking towards the exact point where Slenderman had said the portal had opened... That spot being the alien's own room.

"Still seems to be hard for me to adjust to the teleportation over long distances." Albedo spoke up silently as the two moved along the corridor.

'_Is that so?_' Slenderman asked, his voice full of wonder, '_I do believe you would get used to it eventually. It might seem hard at first try but you of all people are sure to get the hang of it. As you know, you just have to have a clear image of wherever you would like to go to._'

The alien chuckled as silently as he could, "Indeed, that seems to be the tricky part most of the times I would say." he smiled, "Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask: How did you even find me in such a haste?" Albedo questioned turning towards the tall creature.

'_I was quite lucky, if I do say so myself, to be present in the room where you had your communication with Gwendolyn before the magic disappeared, Thankfully I had enough time to get a clear image of the location behind her._' Slenderman revealed, a hand placed on his chest as if he was sighing, '_The harder task was staying undetected long enough, not frightening anybody with my sudden presence and finding you in that huge establishment after that._'

"Well, you did a fine job doing that my friend!" the white haired alien let out another soft chuckle, "Still, in the end that is one heck of a coincidence. I am not even sure how else you would have been able to contact me otherwise. Either way it sure came in handy though." he added with a smile, "So, you say this time it is in my room huh?"

'_Yes. I have heard a strange humming noise emanating from your room as I passed by, and ashamed I am though to admit, curiosity got the better of me. You can believe I was quite surprised upon opening the door and finding _that_ inside._'

"I can imagine." Albedo nodded with an understanding smile as the two arrived in front of his door, "Now then, let us see what we have here."

_**Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

True to form, and all its previous appearances, as soon as the sliding door opened, the dim room Albedo was used to was lit up in the pale blue light of the portal as it hovered next to a wall, spiting gravity and the very space it tore open, perfectly still it hovered above the ground. As the Galvan walked closer to the swirling mass of energy it, as if reacting to his very presence, widened the slightest bit almost as if welcoming him in. The alien caught note of it but did not make a comment, only raised an eyebrow in question taking a mental note of the phenomenon, a small smile forming on his intrigued face all the while.

"Alright then, I suppose one more adventure before the morning comes does not hurt." he shrugged as he placed a hand on one side of the portal, which surprisingly felt solid despite it being a literal hole in space. He felt his hand grasping it a couple times just to make sure he really was feeling it there.

'_Shall I perchance come with..?_'

"Ah, no need, no need." he shook his head in response, "Whilst I do appreciate the concern, it _has_ been a while since I have went off alone so please you just go ahead and rest. On the other hand however I do have a request."

'_Certainly._'

"If I am not back by morning by any chance, do inform the others about my whereabouts? That is all I ask."

'_Of course._' Slenderman nodded in response, cheeks moving slightly as if the entity was smiling warmly at the Galvan-turned-human in front of him. The two shared a brief understanding silent nod shortly afterwards. Albedo then turned his full attention towards the portal, and without a moment's hesitation stepped through it. To Slenderman's apparent surprise, as soon as he did so, the rift closed after him without pause. '_Was it perhaps waiting for him..?_' the tall creature wondered, no one there to answer his thoughts. He turned around and left the room, but as soon as he entered the corridor once again however, he heard the same noise coming from the Lounge this time, but it ceased shortly after. '_Oh lord, this seems to be more complicated than we thought._' he thought, putting a large hand over his face in frustration as he headed towards the Lounge.

* * *

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

A silent room, still clad in the darkness of the early day, only one person was present in it, silently lamenting. Morning was still a couple hours away as Albedo sat on one of the couches in the Lounge, dimly lit by the 4 AM Sun slowly making its way over the horizon, still wondering how things came to be the way they were currently. That was a train of thought that often found its way back to her mind in recent days, more and more in her free time when her thoughts were not occupied by some other matters. She was confused without question, why would she not be? _How_ could she not be? Without any prior warning, a couple months ago as soon as she got released from captivity everything turned on its head without her even knowing at first and now, they were hiding out from the supposed peace keepers of the universe... A twist surely no one she knew would have expected. 'What a joke.' was yet another phrase often uttered nowadays around their hideout, mostly by those familiar with the situation of the international police force called the 'Plumbers' before the entirety of it changed to what it is today, a depraved gathering of lunatics blindly following a crazed power-hungry leader. 'Such a farce...' she thought. The wielder of the Omnitrix, a highly powerful device, on the other hand, a young human girl, once her hated nemesis for, if she had to admit, rather self-serving reasons, was now one of her most trusted allies... Yet another twist of fate. Who knew all it would take to make amends between opposing forces was to simply just talk or, on a rather peculiar occasion only applicable to their situation, to successfully escape from reluctant containment? 'Perhaps the second one is not so common after all.' She chuckled at the sentiment with a pained smile as she leaned back and looked at the ceiling, letting herself loose on the wide piece of furniture, almost becoming one with its surface.

"The universe truly works in mysterious ways." she sighed silently, "How are we even supposed to deal with all this..? _When_ did it become like this..? We are locked in here, without a plan, without defenses, without information. If they ever were to find out about our little hideout we will be as good as sitting ducks ready to be shot down." she let out a lengthy sigh this time, burying her face in her palms in visible frustration, "The others will be anyhow... Not me. Not anymore." she pinched the bridge of her nose letting out a sigh again, '_Then again, what good would it do if only I survived alone after all this..? This is the only thing you have now, you have to protect it with all you have._' she silently admonished herself.

Needless to say she was glad, happy beyond limits, purely ecstatic, that she finally had people to call friends, but they all depended on her now. Everyone she has met so far, everyone that has joined them, they all looked to her for guidance, she knew she could not let them down. She was a beacon each of them relied on now, one whose foundations could not be shaken. Then again, the others were never the type of people to just give up and give in easily themselves either, not the people she came to know anyway... But even then, she worried day and night, sometimes without reason, sometimes with proof surrounding all her worries, she never had a calm day. One misstep and everything could simply collapse... The life she has now, the friends she has made, the lives she had saved, could all be gone in the blink of an eye without her ever being able to do anything, and that thought ate away at her day and night. She could only have these serene self-deprecating, worrying moments when no one was around either way, she could not show them, she could not show her friends that their fearless, always smiling leader had much the same worries they had, she had to keep the morale high, act as if everything was going to be alright even when nothing was certain... Or at least she certainly felt she did. Either way the pressure surely ate away at her very being at every waking moment yet she persevered through sheer willpower, something she prided herself on.

'_Ah... I am such a mess._' she lamented in her thoughts, hiding her eyes behind her palms once more. '_Who in their right minds decided that I should lead? Me of all people? I got betrayed by everyone I have ever partnered with, goes to show off my great judgmental skills... No, you knew they would betray you the first chance they got, yet you still let it get to you... You are such a fool. Why do they even trust you so much?_' she then slapped herself on both cheeks, a lot more forcefully than she intended by her slight reaction of surprise, '_No you buffoon! They put their trust in you just as you did with them! Everything is mutual! All relationships are built on mutual trust, and they listen to you precisely because they trust your judgement! Trust theirs as well! Trust your own._' she mentally scolded herself as a small smile crept onto her face, "Perhaps I am overcomplicating things as usual. Certainly would not be the first time. Almost as if it is your specialty or something..." she let out a lengthy sigh as she got up from the couch preparing to walk away, back to the refuge of her little room until everyone awoke... Only for the air around her to begin to vibrate as a cold chill ran down her spine, a chill she did not like at all. The feeling setting her mind into overdrive at what it could be, she turned back without hesitation, "What in the..." she stared in disbelief at the spot under the large television screen as slowly but surely the space in that spot began to distort, turn and tear. Almost as if something was forcing its way through with reckless abandon. As soon as this started, she instinctively took a couple steps back, she was feeling odd, but did not know why. An inexplicable feeling that made her uncomfortable. What exactly was this thing opening in front of her eyes? A portal? Likely. A tear between worlds? Possible. Perhaps, maybe even both. The initial shock turned into awe and interest as the alien stared at the spectacle unfolding in front of her without fail, eventually culminating into a swirling oval shaped blue mass of energy, or in short, a portal neatly contained in the small space it tore open, not once trying to expand. Just as she had suspected from the start.

It had to have been open for a good minute or so before Albedo shook her head to snap herself back into reality and in her curiosity, she started walking closer to the strange object of interest. She could not lie even if she wanted to, it intrigued her to no end, a portal suddenly opening in the middle of their Lounge, without warning? For one like her this was the perfect way to kill her boredom, to change the subject in her mind. Then her eyes went wide as thoughts seemed to be surging into her head, thinking up various possibilities '_Could this be? The missing link we have been looking for? Where _they_ came from? Or at least the method they did so with..? Just as they have said..._' slowly but surely she looked around the space torn by the emergence of the gateway, circling the phenomenon around and around as thoughts were swirling around in her head, theories popping up left and right. Then it suddenly widened, her eyes doing the same as she once again took a few steps back. Not long after the portal had widened its shape, did a pair of legs make an appearance... And seconds after that a whole entire human being stepped through it. Then he calmly proceeded to simply dust himself off and take in his immediate surroundings for a couple seconds as his eyes widened in apparent realization.

"Now, this is certainly peculiar." he mused, however as soon as he turned towards the direction Albedo was looking at him from, his eyes seemed to almost bulge out of their sockets in surprise as he continued to just stare at her in visible disbelief. "No... Peculiar does not even seem to describe it as it seems." he said as his shock gave way to a wide but somewhat wicked looking grin as it forced its way onto his face, sending a shiver down Albedo's spine. Following his full entrance, the portal closed after him and now the two were left staring at each other inside the room where the Sun was slowly beginning to light more and more.

* * *

As Albedo stepped through the portal, his interests rose again, possibly even more so than all those times before. His face could not hide his abundant excitement as the thrill of adventure was once again flashing in the back of his mind, the same feeling he got during that four months long trip resurfacing once more. As much as he would have denied it were he asked at any time, he absolutely enjoyed going through the different portals. Of course, he was studying it and ways to track its origin, but every world they have went to, every world _he_ has visited felt so alive, so different, nothing like what he was used to. He would never give up the chance to explore a little, not this Galvan. The former alien scientist could not have been farther from his comfort zone, were it his past self. The present version of him however felt himself enjoying their trips, he felt that he had a need of the adventure that each world provided. He always felt like a kid in a theme park wherever he had arrived at. And this? This one was easily the most peculiar yet! He was home! No denying it! Yet he knew he stepped through the portal not seconds before, and even still his surroundings were all things that he knew right now. He felt it, he felt that there was a difference somewhere even if it was all the same at first glance. Only the time of day seemed to be different... Or so he thought. His biggest surprise yet came however when he lay eyes on the girl in front of him, staring at him in wide eyed surprise, intrigue shining in her crimson eyes. One look at her and it was clear as day what exactly was happening, or at least what he thought was happening.

Her long white hair was tied in a ponytail that reached down to the middle of her back. Her crimson red eyes were curiously looking at his every move, studying him as if he was a foreign creature in a familiar environment. She wore a black t-shirt with a red stripe going down the middle over the mirrored image of a 10. The red stripes covered the shirt's collar and shoulders as well, with the shirt overall accentuating her figure. She wore dark gray pants, similar in color to the ones Albedo was currently wearing right now but resembling Ben's pair of pants even more in style. However, her shoes were almost one and the same with Albedo's. '_No mistaking it._' he inwardly smiled.

"Forgive me for the awkward transition, I am just marveling at the coincidence that is this meeting." he suddenly spoke up unable to contain himself, snapping the girl out of her own thoughts, "I do believe you have figured out who I am by now, or at least meddled with the possibility, even if it is hard to believe." he smiled as he walked closer and looked the girl in the eyes, only then realizing that he seemed to be taller by a small amount. "My name is Albedo. Greetings, _other me_."

"Just as I have figured." she let out a short sigh, her face occupied by a small smile and raised eyebrows "Now to be honest, on the list of things I did not expect to happen on this day, this is probably somewhere up there." the other Albedo said, as she put a hand on her forehead and another on her waist in disbelief.

"Oh believe me, this is a surprise for me as well!" Albedo chuckled, "I have been to many different worlds, but this is certainly a first."

"Different worlds? So, this... 'portal' you came out of? Does it connect to your 'world' only, or many others as well?" she asked with intrigue, running a couple possibilities through her mind, not once denying his words as the truth.

"Oh? Have you perchance never had any run-ins with this forsaken thing?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, his female self looked at him questioningly but answered nonetheless.

"Not so far no. Not _personally _at least. Only once but not anymore." she admitted, "We have had a couple different people, beings and all sorts of various form of creatures all claiming to be the inhabitants of different worlds but so far nothing was proven. Even after what happened with me, I could not prove it... We never had solid proof... Until now that is. As I have just witnessed the phenomenon myself, all the pieces seem to be connecting neatly. And of course, as you can probably imagine, I am intrigued as well."

"Ah I see. I would be disappointed if you were not!" Albedo nodded with a cocky grin. "To be honest with you, whilst I do not know the cause that initially started its openings, it is clear that it can access any world in our multiverse and from my own experience completely different worlds as well. As it has clearly demonstrated by connecting ours just now, or your experience with otherworlders."

"Yes, that clearly explains what has been happening around here as well." female Albedo nodded with a finger to her chin, "So, if you do not mind me asking, what exactly is the, how do they say it, 'deal' with your world?" she raised an eyebrow as she looked her other self up and down. "If it is anything other than the obvious."

"Let me answer that question with a question dear me: Is the wielder of the Omnitrix a girl as well?"

"Indeed." she nodded in response, as if that question also confirmed her suspicions.

"Then it is as you might have guessed. From the standpoint of your world, mine has all the genders flipped, and thus possibly some names as well but the general buildup should remain the same." he explained, "Back home, Benjamin found the Omnitrix during a trip with his grandfather and cousin."

"Jennifer was much the same!" female Albedo said with a wide smile, "I see, that makes sense. So that truly seems to be the only difference."

"Well, of course the possibility that there are some smaller differences in the long run of this world's human and extraterrestrial history but generally yes, it _should _theoretically all be the same, except of course our genders. Which is quite the peculiar change if you think about it, then again I suppose this is why they call it a _parallel_ world, is it not?" Albedo smiled, "Still to think I would meet another vers-" he suddenly shut up.

"What is it?"

"How can this be?" he suddenly asked, grabbing a hold of the shoulders of his female counterpart who looked at him with concern in turn, but he just grinned wildly, as if this was the happiest news he has gotten in a while.

"How can what be?"

"Paradox... _Professor _Paradox had told me a while ago that I was the only Albedo he knew to change." he explained, "The only one not to remain a petty criminal with a petty agenda hellbent on revenge over mistakes he had committed... Yet here you are." he smiled as he looked at his shorter counterpart with the warmest smile, "Talking about your version of the Omnitrix wielder with a positive attitude. That could positively only mean one thing, and I am thrilled it is so!"

"I see. The Professor has not yet visited me." female Albedo explained, "Perhaps he has not gotten around to it yet, or perhaps at that time my world was not established in the lime light, either way, as it seems I appear to be the second one." she finished with a grin. "Not a bad position I might add!" she proudly put her hands on her waist.

"Indeed. Of course!" Albedo smiled as he inexplicably pulled his counterpart into a warm hug, not letting the soul crushing hug go for a second, "You cannot believe how happy these news make me right now!"

"Haha." the other Albedo chuckled, returning the hug, surprisingly more than capable of withstanding the other's crushing hug of happiness, "On the other hand you really should, we are the same after all!" she smiled, burying her face in the chest of her taller counterpart, "That makes two of us." she added quietly, somewhat relieved that there are other versions of her that are friendly out there. From the sheer reaction of her counterpart, every other version seems to be none too likable.

The two shared a hearty but quiet laughter before separating. "I only ever heard from another Albedo from a friend I have made you see, but..."

"I do not like that 'but' there. Or anything it might imply." female Albedo raised an eyebrow in worry. Her earlier suspicions being confirmed.

"Their world, as told by my friend, was one Earth at war with an alien overlord from the far recesses of the universe who was swallowing up planets into his own and creating minions with his powers that mimicked that of the world's inhabitants. Nonetheless there was of course a resistance, Earth never goes down that easily after all, and at one of these bases that world's Benjamin was staying along with a couple friends, supervising everything..."

Female Albedo's eyes went wide as a conclusion almost immediately flashed through her mind, "No... Are you telling me..?"

Albedo just looked at the ground with what appeared to be shame, "He... that piece of utter trash tipped off the overlord and betrayed everyone just so he could attack Benjamin... Just for petty revenge he doomed one of the people capable of defending Earth the most along with all the other innocents at that outpost." female Albedo just put a hand to her mouth in shock, eyes going wide "I cannot..." he clenched his fists, as they seemed to be trembling "I will not tolerate someone with my face committing that... Committing atrocities like that looking like me?" he locked eyes with his female counterpart, the sheer pressure on his face indicated that he was on the verge of tears. It wasn't him, that other one had barely any relation to him and it affected him this bad. She thought about it all, and she realized that the two of them were indeed very similar. "I promised him you see, my friend, that if I ever come into possession of the means to open the portal willingly, our first destination will be that world's past... To warn them all, to stop _myself_... Or worse."

"That is..." female Albedo looked at the ground, following the reaction of her counterpart, "Do you think... there are others like _him_ out there..? No... Are there any other Albedos who are like _us_?"

"If what Paradox said is true, we are the only ones who can be considered 'good'... The others are just varying degrees of bad, like the utter psychopath I have just mentioned."

"Can we... talk for a bit?" female Albedo somewhat shyly asked, "About your world, the differences... The Professor and his words to you? I am interested, I became interested. You and I seem to be more alike than I initially thought, I just..."

"Of course, it would be my pleasure." Albedo smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder to reassure it was okay, more than happy to exchange information with someone much like himself. As they were about to sit down and talk however, Albedo's eyebrows rose in question, "Hold on, _he_?"

"Hmm?"

"You said your professor was a he?"

"Indeed." female Albedo nodded, before it clicked and she turned towards her counterpart, "Wait, are you telling me..?" a small knowing grin formed on her face as she asked.

"The Professor is quite a man back home as well!" Albedo smiled as the two just looked at each other in a creeped out silence for a couple seconds, before bursting out in a short-lived laughter.

"I guess he is not called Professor _Paradox_ without a reason." the two agreed in unison.

After that brief exchange, the duo of former Galvan scientists began sharing their version of their life and the major events that have lead up to the point of their meeting. To their pleasant surprise, most events, even the ones they would not look back on pleasantly were much the same. The start with a love interest called Rednus, their unfortunate end and the initial descent into a criminal. Then the sudden transition into a different world, and the realization soon after returning that the Plumbers have turned sides and just about enslaved every known HQ Plumber.

However the first visited world described by female Albedo had no relation to Albedo's ninja friends at all. The world she described seemed similar to the middle ages of Earth, with knights and castles being in abundance. However, that world was much different, magical creatures existed, mages were plentiful and the knights had powers unbeknownst to the humanity of Earth, one could say they were somewhat like skills from video games. However, the next detail she told surprised Albedo quite a bit. She had apparently met a couple people travelling in a bar. She explained soon after thanks to Albedo's raised eyebrows of disbelief, that the bar apparently was on the back of a large green pig that carried it from place to place. Whilst he would have wanted to call it outright unbelievable, that would not have been the strangest things he had seen if it was the truth, so in the end he accepted it. Apparently, the owner of the establishment was a former captain of a knight order named after the Seven Deadly Sins. All in all, an intriguing tale, or so Albedo thought.

The events after returning however were much the same once more, except for the fact that female Albedo did not die to return, they used a different method that somehow worked... But that fact could easily mean that she is not immortal like he is. However, she claimed that she has come into possession of a 'crazy regeneration factor'. Apparently, so far she had recovered a severed arm in a matter of 3 seconds. That was a lot faster than either his or Jeff's. If she was saying that she 'acquired' the ability she might have a similar copying skill as his own that does not require her demise, which at this point is probably good not to test. '_It really is not easy to test whether someone is immortal or not, huh?_' he mused.

"What I am taking away from this is that... you cannot die?" female Albedo's eyes widened in intrigue.

"I think it is better to say that I cannot _stay_ dead." Albedo corrected, "On the other hand your regenerative prowess trumps even my own."

"Guess we do have our differences then."

"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "But I think it is better that way. Things would become quite stale if we knew everything about each other from the start do you not think?" he asked with a smirk.

"Of course! The learning is where the fun is at!"

"Yes! Finally, someone who gets it!" the two once again shared a laugh. Albedo's expression changed soon after again. His face reflected that he seemed to be filled with questions that needed answers, "Hmm... Have you thought about the possibility of partial transformation yet?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes of course! Countless times! More than I could count really, but I could not perfect it yet. Could you perhaps give me some pointers?" she asked, "Assuming you have perfected it. Though otherwise you probably would not have asked."

"It would be my pleasure." Albedo smiled, "We could use the training room, it can withstand even my abnormal strength."

"You... Tested..?"

Albedo shrugged in response "I tried tearing down a whole wall in a curious streak once, I ended up tiring myself out instead." he explained with a musing expression, gaining a questioning glare from his counterpart, "Do not fault me for my curiosity! It is arguably my best quality!"

"Well, the problem here is that you are _way too_ curious about these things."

"Guilty as charged." he sighed "Though Hope always tells me the same things!" he added with a short chuckle.

"I suppose Charmcaster remains the same no matter the gender huh?" female Albedo chuckled as well as she recalled her version of Hope scolding her on multiple occasions in the past.

"So it would seem." the two smiled before Albedo's expression turned sour. "So, is Maxwell-"

"_Maya._" female Albedo corrected as Albedo's eyes went wide in immediate realization.

"Oh, my apologies, indeed. Is Maya in your infirmary as well?"

"Yes. Though she still has not recovered, even after all this time." she declared, looking at the ground, fidgeting with her hands.

"Much the same then. Unfortunately." Albedo sighed, "Four months had passed since we rescued Maxwell back home, but he has yet to regain consciousness."

"What makes our worlds so different from the others then?" female Albedo spoke up as she leaned back in frustration, "Why are ours the only ones where the Plumbers are taken over in a coup? The only ones where _we_ even change?"

"Perhaps if we knew the answer things would clear up even if a little bit." Albedo sighed, following his counterpart's actions, "Paradox surmised that Rednus might be the deciding cause of our, well _my_ change. The fact that I had someone I held dear when I was practically growing up... The shock of losing them, turning to all means one could think of in order to justify your actions only to in the end realize what you are actually doing... Only to realize how disappointed _they_ must be in you."

"That is way too real." female Albedo shuddered, once again leaning back in the couch and looking at the ceiling. "I realized that we are a lot more similar than I thought, as I have mentioned, but all of this just keeps on proving it more and more."

"Thankfully." Albedo smiled, "It is really nice to know that even I have a version out there in the multiverse that is not terrible."

"Oh yeah! That lifted my mood quite a lot!" she smiled, "Also your crushing hug proved you were happy quite enough thank you."

"Same here. And I am sorry about that... Things got away from me back there." Albedo nodded sheepishly rubbing the back of his head all the while, as something seemed to click in his head causing him to turn around "My we have certainly talked the time away have we not?" his female counterpart turned over as well as the two saw the Sun rising more and more, slowly but surely, as two hours have already passed.

"Guess we got into it." female Albedo shrugged, "I believe it was a worthy exchange either way... Though how exactly will I explain you being here to the others?"

"Well, I am afraid to tell you, that shall need to happen sooner than expected." Albedo declared with a gentle shrug as his female counterpart just looked at him questioningly as he pointed behind her. Around the corner, a sleepy looking young girl appeared, but froze immediately at the turning point. It wasn't hard for Albedo to figure out who she might have been, her brown hair was tied in a similar ponytail as his other self, only hers was shorter and only reached to her shoulders. But the most giveaway features of hers were the green eyes and the exact same clothing Ben usually wore. The brown pants, green and white shoes and the black and green t-shirt with a 10 in the middle of it. The mirrored, alternate colored version of his counterpart's shirt that he was so used to seeing on Benjamin. "Great morning to you! Jennifer, I presume? Have you had a pleasant rest?"

"Okay. What the heck is going on here Albedo?" she asked, somewhat groggily, turning towards female Albedo. "Who's this guy? And why is he so hyper."

"Well, you see..." female Albedo fidgeted for a bit as she looked at Albedo and her eyes went wide at the wicked grin he faced her with, she gulped.

"My name is Albedo, young Jennifer!" he introduced himself, standing up. In a matter of seconds, he was in front of the girl, shrugging off the bit of dizziness he still had, who immediately woke up at the surprise appearance of the alien in front of her, "Awake yet?"

"Woah! Don't. Do. That!" she slowly uttered the words in frustration, her hands going wild in front of her for a couple seconds before her right hand hovered over her left, over the Omnitrix.

"Now, calm down Jennifer. There is no need to be wary." female Albedo stood up with a sigh to calm the situation, then she turned to her other self "Do you do this every time?"

"Apologies but it is just so fun to see the reactions I get." Albedo admitted with a slight guilty snicker.

"Now hold on. How can _you_ be Albedo? You're a-"

"'Dude'?" Albedo asked with air quotation marks, surprising the young girl "Indeed. I am Albedo, but obviously not the one from this world."

"It is true." female Albedo nodded as she chipped in, "This time I actually saw it with my own eyes. I saw the portal open."

"So there _are_ actual different worlds out there?" her eyebrows rose with a smile as she let down her left hand. "Just as all those other guys claimed."

"Oh? Have you perhaps not met alternate versions of yourself?" Albedo asked, "Benjamin has been going on and on about meeting a multitude of different versions of himself whenever he could during the beginning."

"I only ever went to one world by mistake, and that was a while ago." Jen revealed awkwardly. "Now I'm jealous."

"I see." Albedo nodded, "There is no need to be, I am afraid that with the portal still going wild, and me still not knowing the cause for it you will probably have an encounter down the line... Well, nonetheless for the time being it seems I shall be staying here." he finished with a light shrug.

"You are?" Jen asked.

"You are?!" female Albedo snapped.

"You know, seeing as I have no possible way of returning home until the portal opens again? Yes, I am."

"Can he be trusted?" Jen suddenly turned towards her Albedo with a serious expression completely not minding that Albedo was still in front of her. Not exactly getting any vibes from him which she considered strange.

"Yes, Jennifer, he can." female Albedo nodded. "Professor Paradox was the one who vouched for him. Well... Not ours but that has to count for something. Right?"

"I have no proof of it, but according to the Professor, in his knowledge I was the only Albedo to change... Then I arrived here."

"I am the second one!" female Albedo chipped in happily. Jen just sighed as a smile forked its way onto her face as she looked at female Albedo's childishly giddy expression.

"To think we once tried to kill each other." she chuckled. "Now look at you."

"How the times change." Albedo mused, then he clapped his hands together, and took off his jacket, tossing it over to the couch casually, "Now then, shall we head towards the Training Room?" he asked, turning towards the direction of said room.

"How do you even know where that is?" Jen asked as Albedo just looked at him with a smile.

"Our worlds are very similar Jennifer." he simply said before heading off towards the room. "It is like I am home!"

"He's weird."

"That is quite rude." female Albedo mock pouted, "He is technically me." she added with a chuckle as she followed her counterpart.

Jennifer looked at the jacket strewn over the couch, now recognizing it as the design of her old one from two years ago then shrugged, sighed and ultimately followed the two. "What exactly could go wrong?" she silently asked of no one in particular, not long before a terrible unexplainable chill ran down her spine, and she stood there wide eyed "Did I seriously just..?"

_**Training Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

The large room opened up to the trio in all its white glory. The walls were made of a white metal paneling that was practically impossible to break in any shape or form, just as Albedo remembered them to be. However, he still did not remember how his own even came to be, having found the base itself a good couple years back... A base somehow locked to his, or precisely Benjamin's, DNA, even though it seemed way older than the hero at the time. The panels themselves could move and change at a moment's notice with the control panel set up in the room like the others, even capable of distorting the space to appear even bigger on the inside, yet another quality Albedo did not understand at all. Even so, the alien calmly walked over to the middle of the room, taking in everything in it and memorizing his surroundings even if all of it were just the white walls.

"Now then, how about a sparring match?" he asked, turning around with a flair to face the two ladies, "One on one, between ourselves?"

"Huh?" Jen raised an eyebrow in surprise, she did not know what she expected but it probably wasn't this.

"It is not every day I can test out my limits on a living being after all." female Albedo shrugged with a grin mimicking her counterpart's. "Alright! I shall accept the challenge!"

The grin the two shared sent a shiver down Jen's spine, she did not know why but she felt in extreme danger. It was like all her instincts telling her that she should not be there, that she should run and flee with reckless abandon, but she could not move. She felt her brain giving the impulses for her limbs to move but they refused to budge.

"Jennifer, I advise you relocate to the observation room." Albedo kindly offered, "We may not be able to hold back."

That was enough to snap her out of it, she looked down at her hands, then at the kind eyes and smile Albedo gave her as she briefly nodded and almost fled the room, however the two currently did not notice her reaction.

"Now then... shall we begin?" he asked with the same wicked grin from before.

"Oh yeah." female Albedo nodded with the same grin yet again, cracking her neck slightly, they felt the tension and excitement rise as they were left to their own devices in the room.

_**Observation Room, Training Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Jen hastily entered the room, leaving the door ajar as she looked out the window of the room embedded into the wall of the Training Room. The window itself seemed to be from a similar material as the metal panels making up the walls but it was quite transparent. The girl felt her heart beating heavily as she anxiously looked out at the two currently just looking at each other, forcing herself to place a hand to her chest. She had never felt this way, not when facing up against Aggregor, not when fighting the countless times against Vilgax... She clearly felt that she would die if she were to stay in the room, the ethereal dread surrounding her, all fibers of her being were telling her she was in danger when she high tailed it out of the room. She was never one to run away from anything, but this time it was different. With her left hand still placed on her chest as if to help her calm down, she watched on as the two were just looking at each other all the same.

Then it happened. In the blink of an eye both of them disappeared from in front of her eyes as they just darted around the now seemingly empty room in the hopes of finding the two aliens. Then a loud bang sounded and she saw a brief flash of the two of them before they disappeared again.

"What the hell is that speed?!" she muttered bewildered to herself, her eyes failing to register what was going on. Not realizing that she was still faster as a Kineceleran, for her human eyes it seemed quite abnormal, just as it should have been. All she saw were the brief flashes of black that darted around the room, more than likely the brief moment their shirts of all things were visible. Their 'spar' was on a whole other level. Every time they clashed, Jen just shuddered behind the window almost as if she felt the impacts through the reinforced glass in front of her. '_What even happened to these two..?_' she mused in her thoughts at the spectacle in front of her.

"What's all this noise?" a groggy female voice sounded from behind her. Jen turned to face the girl who arrived at the door of the Observation Room. She had darker skin and black spiky hair, a pair of goggles sat atop her head. She wore a blue and white shirt with two small orange stripes on the left side of its chest, along with a pair of black form fitting pants which had a blue pattern running through them. Her apparel was completed with a pair of gloves and black boots. "It's early." she yawned.

"That would be a little long to explain Rex." Jen said, her body shaking as she looked back at the window. Rex noticed her shaking and with concern overtaking her face she joined her next to the window.

"What the-" Rex started the question but was immediately cut off by the black blurs passing by the window, surprising the both of them, "What the hell is going on?! Who's in there?!" she seemed to be quite awake now, her eyes going wild trying to follow what exactly was going on.

"Albedo..." Jen said, her voice quivering, her mind wondering at the powers currently at work in front of her.

"What?! Who the hell is she fighting with?"

"Herself." Jen bluntly said, her eyes not able to leave the Observation Room, as Rex just turned back shocked.

'_Herself? What?_' her thoughts wondered.

"What exactly do you mean by 'herself'?" a male voice asked from behind the two girls, as a rather tall, long white-haired man entered the room, his arms crossed. He wore black jeans and boots, along with a black sleeveless vest over a magenta shirt. His magenta colored eyes had black markings around them, as one of his eyebrows rose, he too overlooking the fight.

"That... would be long to explain, as I've just said." Jen repeated with a sigh, "I'll just leave it to _them._ For now... I think we should just watch and be afraid."

"I see... Then again, with all this noise, how have Atsushi and Leia still not woken up?" the man asked, "They are supposed to be somewhat related to animals."

"Huh, Leia is one for sleeping in, but Atsushi too?" Rex chuckled, "Today is a weird day."

As the mood lifted somewhat in the Observation Room, and as Rex and the man were about to share a laugh, Jen gasped in audible surprise causing the other two to immediately turn back to the window, faces burrowed in concern. Their eyes soon went wide at an object that flew past the window. It was an arm. A left arm to be precise. The trio looked down in shock as the two blurs suddenly appeared and now stood still. Albedo was clutching his left arm, his hand becoming bloodied in the process.

"Ha, first hit!" female Albedo grinned widely.

"This really hurts you know?!" Albedo mock snapped, his arm was already healing at the expense of his abilities and some of his energy. "We are not yet finished my friend." he returned the grin, his appearing cockier than hers as he walked over and picked up his missing appendage, reattached it and through his abilities his arm was back, good as new. "Alright, I guess I should try to fight back myself!"

Jen watched on in concern as Rex and the man seemed to understand what exactly she meant by 'herself'. They did not ask any questions after that just watched with bated breath as the two almost divine powers clashed in front of them with smiles on their faces. Out of the three of them however, only the man was calmly analyzing the situation, his eyes darting from corners of the room as if following their movements.

The two at first glance seemed evenly matched, as they darted around the room without caring much about their surroundings, it would not break anyway so they had no reason to. Unseen by the others up in the Observation Room, the two were grinning at each other quite happily as they literally tore each other apart from strike to strike. Albedo landed a hit, resulting in his counterpart losing an appendage herself. Hers however regenerated quite rapidly, much to the surprise of the Galvan. Their, to the outsiders, sadistic little spar seemed to base points on the amount of 'hits' they could land on the other party. Hits of course being the loss of something easy, by their standards, to regenerate. It was a battle that none of the two fighting sides could have even imagined taking part in a mere year ago, but now they played around with their bodies, inflicting lethal wounds upon lethal wounds with childish happiness, keeping a score. They almost seemed like two kids playing tag, until yet another limb made its way across the room. From time to time, Albedo transformed one or both of his arms in the hopes of at the same time letting his other self catch on to the technique behind partial transformation as it would save a lot of overall energy to spend on other abilities. A strike was blocked by a Petrosapien arm as it shattered, before being followed up by a fireball from the left Pyronite arm. A flurry of continuous strikes later the female Galvan was held up from her legs by a pair of Tetramand arms, however he almost immediately let her go upon realizing that her other gendered counterpart was not exactly all that knowledgeable with human female's sense of shame. The rather pathetic throw came back to haunt him as within moments she was in front of him, her arm going through his shoulder, the pain causing a tear to escape his eyes, 'I suppose I have deserved that.' he shrugged inwardly as he slapped her away.

Their current score was 127 for Albedo, 125 for female Albedo. Albedo was intentionally keeping himself from afflicting too much damage. He had come to witness his counterpart's stupefying regenerative capabilities, but even than he could not be sure that she could regenerate from wounds he himself could easily bounce back from... Simply put, he was holding back, hoping that she would not notice. And for the time being things were seemingly going swimmingly, he was in the lead and his other self was just carefully observing his movements, trying to one up them as the opportunities presented themselves. He used the evolved Arachnichimp's legs to scale the walls, turning his throat into an evolved Necrofriggian's, firing the freezing orange beam at his current enemy, who being caught off guard by the sudden attack got frozen to the ground. Albedo saw it clearly, she was trying to transform her right arm into a Pyronite's to melt away the ice but still could not get the hang of it as she transformed fully instead. Though she turned back immediately after, clearly frustrated.

* * *

'Why can I not get it?!' Albedo snapped in her mind. She punched her leg in frustration as she looked up at male Albedo still suspended in a corner of a room eyeing her every move, 'How can he do it so efficiently? Even combining alien forms without much trouble... What am I missing?' she silently lamented her inability as she readied her body for a jump. A jump towards the corner, an action so fast that the other Albedo barely had time to react. He undid the transformation for the spider legs on his back and immediately dropped below her, further enhancing her frustration. 'He is playing with me!' she snapped in fury, 'He is holding back on me! Am I not that worthy of an opponent for him?' she asked of no one as she wondered all the possibilities at why she was having a one sided fight, 'No... He is like you, remember? There has to be a different reason, something...' her eyes then went wide, both from an apparent realization and from the fact that male Albedo was suddenly in front of her, his fist held back ready to punch, 'I forgot he can teleport!' she scoffed as she tried her best to protect herself from the punch by crossing her arms. But the unmitigated impact of his fist colliding with her arms was enough to break them, rendering them useless for at least ten seconds, a window large enough for another attack to come... Which she soon realized was the kick flying towards her side. An attack she was currently unable to block she tried her best to dodge, but the wind pressure generated by her opponent's leg moving still pushed her backwards. 'Gotta... heal...' she sighed inwardly as her hands began returning to their rightful positions.

Her thoughts went back to what she was thinking about before receiving the devastating punch to her protected midsection. 'Even though he is using enough power to damage me at every move, he is still holding back, it is apparent. He is pulling his punches, stopping them just short... Why?' she could not fathom why her opponent was so blatantly breaking the rules of the battle they discussed mildly before starting to pummel each other. Then her eyes went wide in realization as she continued dodging the flurry of strikes coming her way, this time fully healed and ready, she remembered one detail about their conversation, 'He is immortal... But we do not know if I am as well...' she concluded as the pieces seemed to be connecting. 'He is holding back because of me.' she realized as a small smile formed on her face, 'Haha, we are so irredeemable it is insane."

* * *

An hour had already gone by in a flash as the two were still, according to them if anyone had asked, just messing around in the Training Room, an activity which they called sparring. However the trio in the Observation Room were beyond lost at the pure speed their attacks had happened. Even then it was nothing more than just a game to the two of them, despite the fact that the first attack was not the only time that a body part went flying... Of course the three observers did not know that was the rule of their game in the first place. The man, the sorcerer being the only one capable of relatively following their movements, and who was still analyzing the situation, spoke up for the first time in a while.

"They seem quite evenly matched all things considered." he declared silently with a sigh. "But that is not exactly a fair assessment as the other Albedo doesn't seem to be going all out."

"What do you mean..?" Jen reluctantly asked, her eyebrows arching upwards.

"It feels like he doesn't want to hit our Albedo with all his strength. He's holding back deliberately against his opponent." the man explained, "I wonder why." he mused, looking out the window as the fight seemed to slow down for the moment.

"Hey, hey!" female Albedo's voice resounded from downstairs but the person herself could not be seen by Rex and Jen for the moment, "This is not exactly a fair fight if you are not going all out!"

She had had enough, she called out to her other self to stop this farce and no matter what happens to take it seriously, at least this once. That was her only desire when facing an enemy she herself could go out on.

"Seems she has noticed as well." he chuckled.

"I cannot well kill you now, can I?" Albedo mocked, "If it turns out you cannot come back that would be quite bad."

"I understand that, and I am thankful for that." female Albedo admitted as the two stopped to look at each other, "But we agreed to go all out for just this once did we not?"

"I suppose that is true." Albedo nodded. "My apologies, I shall get to it."

"Right? So how ab-" however her words faltered as the air around the room changed. The trio in the observation room, with the visible exception of the man who was only forced down to a knee, almost fainted in the matter of seconds, surprising the female Galvan. They took all their might to look back out the window even if barely as female Albedo's head turned back towards her opponent only for her eyes to widen in what appeared to be horror.

What stood before him was not another Galvan-turned-Human anymore... It seemed to be something sinister, the _creature_ was around two and a half meters tall, its face surrounded by a black hooded cloak reaching to his back. Its torso was covered by a single black tank top, torn at some places to reveal a grey ribcage. It wore black jeans with chains from its left pocket running across its chest with black boots to complete the apparel as from the hidden confines of the hood two red small flames glew as if to signify the eyes. The aura it emitted was simply overbearing, she realized this immediately as it took her all to avoid falling to her knees as well, but her mental fortitude was something she prided herself on if nothing else. The large and menacing creature took a step forward before vanishing completely out of sight. The oppressing aura was gone, and everyone's eyes just darted around at the Training Room, searching for wherever the creature might have disappeared to. The man was sweating furiously, all his instincts told him that he needed to do something, but his rational thought countered that by the time he went down there it would all be over.

The next seconds were the moments where everything concluded. As female Albedo was practically panicking at having lost sight of her enemy, so did the others in the Observation Room. There was no sight anywhere of the other Galvan, no feeling, nothing. Then as soon as female Albedo took a step forward, she was immediately forced to the ground with the force of a heavily loaded freight train, closing her eyes from the impact. As soon as she opened her eyes she came face to face with a pale blue colored crystalline blade pointed at her face. The weapon, was in fact Albedo's right arm, as he stood over her now limp body with a scorn... which soon turned into his nowadays usual giddy smile.

"I believe it is my win?" he smiled, as his hand turned back into a human one and he held it out for her to hold on to for support.

"I concede." female Albedo sighed with a relieved smile as she took the offered hand and helped herself get up from the cold floor. "Though I do have to ask... What even was that... form?"

"Oh it is my 'Death' form!" Albedo smiled happily, "I cannot hold it for more than half a second however without my scythe."

"So you just used it to show off." female Albedo concluded.

"Perhaps." Albedo shrugged.

"Are you satisfied?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, putting both her arms on her hips, her heart rate returning to normal.

"Indeed!" he nodded vigorously, "I have learned so much of you just from this fight of ours."

"That is great." female Albedo nodded, before she frowned, "Now how about you show me how to do all that cool stuff you did during all of this?" she asked with all the giddy innocence of a child.

"Haha." Albedo laughed, "As I have promised."

"That reminds me, I did not even know I had a 'Death' form." she pouted.

"Oh have you perchance never tested it in your first otherworldly adventure?"

"Nope. I mostly used my alien transformations whenever we needed to fight." she admitted, "We never got around to testing what that scythe could do before I lost it."

"I myself have only barely tested it before it was gone in a portal." he sheepishly admitted. "Nonetheless you can try it now as well, but like me you will probably not be able to hold it for very long."

"Any pointers?"

"Imagine the feeling when you transform into an alien, but rather than that try to channel some of your latent energies as well. That is all I did and it seemed to do the trick."

"I see." female Albedo nodded as she started to concentrate.

"Oh, hello ladies! And Charmcaster!" Albedo greeted with a wave as the doors opened and Rex, Jen and the man from before, Charmcaster, walked in. "Did you enjoy our little spar?" he asked cheerily.

"Suuure~, let's go with that." Rex cringed at the memories of the most unforgettable moments that have transpired during the past hour.

"You really didn't hold back at the end there." Jen shuddered.

"Apologies for that little charade, but I just could not resist when I was so openly taunted." Albedo bowed apologetically. "Perhaps it is in my human nature."

"You really look like Albedo." Charmcaster commented, examining him from closer, "Or I guess it is _our_ Albedo now?"

"My you are just as quick to catch on as Hope back home." Albedo smiled, "Indeed, I am from a different world as I have already mentioned to your brown-haired friend. I came in through a portal that opened in my room back home, which lead to your Lounge. But since our worlds are practically identical it was not hard to orientate myself."

"Interesting." Charmcaster nodded with a small smile, "So I suppose the only noticeable difference between our worlds as a whole are the genders?"

"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "There seem to be a lot more smaller changes between your Albedo's and my timelines but ultimately the main course of events is exactly identical."

"So in your world there's a dude Rex going around?" Rex asked, "Neat." she grinned.

"Oh, excuse the crude question, but is your name still Rex?"

"Oh no worries, I think it's a viable question, what with what's going on recently." Rex shrugged, "According to my memories its short for Rexanne, but Rex just rolls off the tongue more."

"I see. Hmm, interesting."

"What is?" Rex raised an eyebrow.

"Considering the fact that you are here, would mean that this world in its entirety has connection to worlds that run on the same rule as it as well."

"So... What you're saying is that because we also have a Rex here, and you have _him _home at your world too, but since they are not natives to this world..." Jen put the pieces together.

"Indeed!" Albedo nodded, "Whilst this world more than likely has a connection to the other worlds the portal could choose from as well, it possibly has a higher resonance, if that is a right word to use here, with worlds that run on the same 'rule' as it. So take for example that this world's main differential is the flipped genders compared to ours, perhaps your world could one day open to a world where Slenderman exists but he would be a lady."

"Whilst I understand this and all, it even makes other things that happened recently make sense, but you don't mean to tell me..." Rex deadpanned at the white haired alien.

"Oh indeed, Slenderman has become part of our little team around four months ago now." he smiled. "To make it easier to imagine, it is more than likely correct to say that everything that is fictional in this world could exist in another world as reality. These are some of the small connections I have found whilst traveling around different worlds for the past four months, there is always a connection, no matter how miniscule."

"Wait... Sumo Slammers could exist in another world?!" Jen suddenly snapped to attention causing Albedo to laugh out loud, "What?" she asked confused.

"Oh, it is nothing. Only that Benjamin reacted the same way once I have brought up the theory." he explained causing the Omnitrix wielder to blush in embarrassment. "There is no reason to be embarrassed dear, to be excited of the unknown means a spirit of adventure!" he declared proudly, "That is what a person I have met told me and I agree with them wholeheartedly." he shrugged, "And what do we know? There _might_ be a world where Sumo Slammers _is _more than a franchise." he finished, putting a hand on the girl's shoulders.

"So, on that note, what exactly is she doing?" Rex asked, pointing behind Albedo, at his female version who to the naked eyes was just standing there, but Albedo could clearly see the energy culminating around her, and from his reactions Charmcaster could too.

"Oh, she is trying out the whole 'Death' form thing." Albedo explained, "It should click in- now."

As if on cue, female Albedo as well was enveloped in a brief flash of white light, her body also changing to the similar skeletal body Albedo had, the only difference between the two's transformation, was that her's was a tad bit shorter, just like their human forms.

"**Hey! It worked!**" she said in a deep almost demonic voice before immediately changing back, "Nice!"

"See? I knew you could do it." Albedo smiled, "It just takes practice."

"So if I apply the same theory with my normal transformations..." female Albedo mused. In a matter of seconds after the thought giant blue butterfly like wings sprouted from her back, the wings of a Necrofriggian, the alien Ben called Big Chill. "I can achieve partial transformation as well!"

"Indeed." Albedo nodded with a proud smile.

"Why did I not think of that from the start?" she asked in frustration.

"Because if you are anything like me, which is clear now, you always overcomplicate things from the start." Albedo guessed with a shrug.

"He's right." Jen nodded, Rex and Charmcaster did so as well.

"Hey do not gang up on me!"

"We are ganging up on _me_, so it is fair." Albedo countered.

"I do not like that logic." female Albedo pouted. "Nonetheless, today has been quite informative thanks to your arrival. Thank you."

"I acted on impulse, there is not much to thank me here for." Albedo shrugged with a small smile, "The portals started in my world, so of course I feel responsible for each opening. Nevertheless, it has been a pleasure meeting you again. It is as if I have met my friends over again."

"Ha, same here!" Rex grinned, "I kinda wanna meet dude me now."

"I am sure that will happen down the line." Albedo shrugged, "I am not one to believe in fate, but I believe our worlds are intertwined enough for another meeting to occur." he then let out a sigh, "On a different note, I suppose you cannot exactly leave this place either."

"Nope." Jen sighed as well, her shoulders drooping, "Not exactly how I saw my life going a year ago."

"I believe that feeling is mutual." Albedo smiled, then his brows furrowed in confusion, as he turned to his other self, "Hold on a moment, if you have not met Slenderman yet, I believe you cannot teleport yet, no? Then how exactly did you help Jennifer's grandmother escape?"

"Oh! You used your own abilities for that?!" female Albedo's eyes lit up, then as if cogs began turning in her head, "Oh right, teleportation. And the whole immortal ability gathering thing... I cannot believe I have forgotten again."

"Indeed." Albedo nodded as the others looked at him confused, "Me or her shall explain later, no worries."

"But yeah, I do not have that." she shook her head, "We have found some experimental tech on our first escape and I have improved on that." the female Galvan explained.

"Oh, intriguing." Albedo nodded, "We were preoccupied with not getting shot."

"Oh yeah, that happened too." Rex nodded, "But she took the time to search a room when we were running for our lives." she cringed.

"Hey! Curiosity got the better of me! And it came in handy down the line did it not?" she grinned proudly, then she took a device out from her pocket, "I also got this." she showed off a cylindrical device no bigger than a normal pencil with a small red light, currently inactive, at the top of it.

"And what exactly is that?" Charmcaster asked with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"Well seeing how we had 'otherworldly encounters'," she emphasized the words with air quotes, "Which turned out to be actual, I have created a device capable of hiding how one looks originally. Seeing as how not all of our encountered beings look exactly common it is better to hide them lest our Plumber friends were to recognize that more dimensional guests exist than ones they wanted to hold captive."

"Oh?" Albedo grinned, "Care to share the details?" he rubbed his hands together, "It would help _us_ out much in our own encounters as well. There have been times where I visited worlds where humans were not exactly a species that existed."

"Sounds rough." Rex declared.

"Think about creatures living their own lives normally than suddenly this weird hairless beast arrives out of nowhere." Albedo explained, "Not exactly a pleasant greeting that one."

"Of course." female Albedo nodded, "I only have this guy right now, but you should be able to make it work with my theories and blueprints I believe."

"Indeed, we are the same after all." he shrugged. "I thank you in advance."

Female Albedo began searching through her pockets right after, "It should be somewhere around here..." she mused, only to seconds later make a satisfied face, "There we go!" she grinned widely as she pulled a piece of paper out of one of the pockets on her jeans, "The blueprints!"

Rex and Jen just looked at her in a deadpan expression, Charmcaster just facepalmed with a sigh. Even her other self was amused. "Do you carry that around with you everywhere?" the brown-haired girl asked incredulously.

"Of course! You never know when inspiration might strike!" the Galvan girl declared proudly.

"Ingenious! I should try doing that sometime." Albedo mused as well, going along with her for the fun of it, only for the others to audibly groan.

"You two really are two sides of the same coin." Charmcaster commented.

"Here you go." female Albedo grinned, handing her counterpart the blueprints, ignoring the snide comment made by the sorcerer.

"Are you sure?"

"I have several copies." she grinned.

"Why do you have _several_ copies?!" Jen snapped.

"I got too into it." she shrugged.

Albedo just chuckled then turned towards Jen, "Alright, let us stop with the jokes. Has your cousin and friend reached the Pacific yet with the evacuees in this world?"

Jen's eyes went wide for a couple seconds, but then she responded, "Not yet. They were heading in that direction, why? What's there?"

"If all is the same, there should be an alien settlement on the bottom of the ocean floor. A colony made up of Cerebrocrustaceans and Piscciss Volann. In our world they graciously allowed all the evacuees to stay here, and in the four months I have been gone the colony flourished well with the addition of the human party. I would be proud of the situation were it not for the circumstances which forced it to happen in the first place." he sighed.

"There's an alien colony in the Pacific?" Rex deadpanned. "Nice." she finished with a grin.

"How long has that been there?" Jen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wish I could tell you, we have only found out about its existence when they have contacted Gwendolyn, Benjamin's cousin, and allowed shelter for the evacuees. It could have been way before even Undertown's creation for all we know."

"Brainstorms and Ripjaws'..." Jen wondered, "That's not an everyday combination."

"It sure is not." female Albedo nodded, delighted of the information, "But does that not count as a spoiler for information in itself?"

"Hey, it's not like he time traveled." Rex shrugged, Albedo nodding along with him.

"The lady's right. It is just by mere coincidence that I ended up here, and an even bigger coincidence that most events seem to be happening in the same order, as such consider this as a friendly advice rather than anything else." he grinned with a wink. He then turned to Rex, Jen and Charmcaster, looking the trio over with attention to detail, "Hmm, now that I think about it, is it just you three here?"

"Oh no, we have two others as well." Charmcaster explained, "Though for some reason they are still sleeping in."

"For some reason?" Albedo repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you see both of their... abilities are centered around animals so to speak, well one of theirs is the other is not even human, so with all the noise you guys made even with the muffling I just find it strange that they're still not up." the sorcerer explained.

"Centered around animals you say?"

"Yeah." Jen nodded, "The boy, Atsushi, comes from a world where according to him there exist people called the gifted with special powers and all. From the names I recognized most of his friends were famous writers in the past here."

"Oh! That sounds rather spectacular." Albedo giddily smiled in intrigue, "What would his ability be then?"

"As he told us it's called 'Beast Beneath the Moonlight'." Charmcaster continued, "It is based on a collection of storied titled 'The Moon Over the Mountain', in our world written by the author bearing his name, of course interestingly in this world the writer was a woman." he smiled at Albedo, "Nonetheless it allows him to transform his body into a large white tiger, sometimes partially if needed and he possesses large scale regeneration thanks to this, of course as one would imagine it is quite powerful as well."

Albedo smiled as he took it all in, "Quite an intriguing ability." he nodded, "And the lady?"

"Well, simply put, Leia is a werewolf." Rex explained with a shrug, "She's also from a different world, now proven true, and she's really strong." she added, "We fought once in Training and she kept up quite well with my builds. She's freely able to transform into the werewolf form without all the full moon theory and all, also whilst she looks tough and all she's a sweetheart."

"A genuine werewolf... I do not believe I have actually met one before." Albedo mused, "If time allows I would like to meet them." he smiled as he started walking towards the door, "I shall grab my jacket, perhaps we can continue this conversation in the Lounge?"

"Sure!" Rex grinned, "I need to know about your world, it sounds fun."

"Rex it's literally the same as this one." Jen pointed out.

"It still sounds fun though!" the black haired girl insisted.

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

As the group of five entered the Lounge, both Albedos where hit with a bad feeling that just sent shivers down their spine in eerie unison. They looked at each other and shared a brief nod as they slowed their walking speed.

"Something is not right." female Albedo said cautiously.

"Be on guard." Albedo added, as the other three nodded in response, assuming fighting stance.

They walked closer to the couches slowly. Albedo picked up his jacket as they converged behind the sofa facing the television on the wall. The sensation that the two Galvans were feeling seemed to be coming from under the television... Just the place where Albedo had come through the portal from. Albedo's eyes went wide, his female counterpart followed soon after as she herself seemed to recognize what was going on.

"No! Not again, not this one!" Albedo snapped.

"What is it?!" Jen snapped, worried.

"It is the portal! But not the calm one like the one before..." female Albedo answered.

"_It is the one that started it all._" the two responded in perfect unison.

True to their fears, in a matter of seconds the space was forcefully and violently tore open under the television, as the blue swirling portal appeared again... However, this time it did not stop growing, it was as if it was trying to envelop the whole room, yet it passed through all inanimate objects. Then it started, the same vacuum like effect the very first portal ever had. It seemed as if the other portals after it just forgotten about that ability, as if they were not capable of it, but this made it all so clear. It was never that they had no way of using the vacuum again, but rather they had no need to.

"It wants us." Albedo concluded with a gasp, "It needs to force us to go... That is the reason the vacuum is here again!"

"Are you telling me this thing wanted you from the beginning?!" Jen snapped at the both of them.

They shared a worried laugh as female Albedo answered, "It seems that way."

Suddenly, the power of the vacuum intensified as the group was left with no ground to stand on for support, they accepted their fate and disappeared through the swirling mass. Whilst it was now an everyday occurrence for Albedo, the other four were quite freaked out, with the exception of the other Albedo who was just looking around, her intrigue visible on her face from afar. The portal closed soon after, leaving the room in the serene silence of the morning.

_**Well, there we go. The first part ends on a cliffhanger, I have not done that yet have I? Not like it matters anyway since the next part is ready to read as well. Where exactly have our unfortunate heroes ended up thanks to the annoying portal? Is it pleasant, or perhaps infuriating? Eh, I'm not good at creating suspense like this so see for yourself.**_  
_**Yes, the whole thing with Rex asking a question then responding with a short one worded answer turned out to be the unintentional gag in this chapter, I apologize for that.**_  
_**Nonetheless this chapter, had turned out much, much longer than I would have suspected, that is why it needed to be split, but I believe the spot where I chose to split the two parts is where the story actually differentiates between the two parts, though I guess since I am the one writing that is to be expected. Onward towards the future!**_  
_**('Turn' the page.)**_


	3. The Other Side - Part 2

_**There we go, the other side of the second portal. A place full of misery, and mystery.**_

Chapter 3: The Other Side  
Part 2

_**Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.**_

The blue portal opened high above the ground, almost mimicking the first ever opening of it back in the first world Albedo had ever visited, allowing the five reluctant travelers to fall out of it onto the hard and coarse ground with an audible impact. Each with their own pained groan accompanying their landing took some time to let go of the gained pain as Albedo stood up with a frown, fists clenched shaking them towards the sky.

"It is always the sky with you, is it not!?" he groaned angrily, looking up towards the sky where the portal was already closing, "Where are we this time?" he asked of no one in particular in a grumble, 'Wasteland? Why, that is certainly not very descriptive.' he sighed inwardly as his eyes darted to the already disappearing letters telling him his location. By now he has more than gotten used to them, what with the past four months' worth of traveling, even if he still did not know the cause of them he had to admit they came in handy more times than not. Not having to rely on machinery or items in times like this were a lifesaver. 'Seems we are in a possible future of a world. A rather sad one if I might add.' he concluded, "Everyone in one piece still I hope?"

"Barely." Jen groaned, picking herself off the ground.

"Is it always this rough with the landing?" Rex rubbed her waist, as she fell on it upon landing.

"89% of the time." Albedo sighed. "It is good that we got dropped off at the same place however, it sometimes has the rare tendency to split us up."

"With how big it opened, I would like to think this was intentional." female Albedo shrugged, "Where are we anyhow?" she turned towards her counterpart, somewhat expecting him to know the answer. Her eyes narrowed upon looking at him, "I have seen that look in your eyes just now." she raised an eyebrow. "Spill."

"Look, I do not know much more than the fact that this is obviously some sort of wasteland. We are also in the year 2345, though if it is still your Earth or a different world's one, I do not know. Though judging by how dilapidated everything looks, my guess is on the latter."

"You can tell what year we are in just by being here?" Charmcaster raised an eyebrow.

"It would be a lengthy story to tell." Albedo explained, "Albeit I believe we have the time with us already being here, we can tell you while we walk."

"Fair enough." the sorcerer nodded.

"Before that however, do you know any sort of environmental protection spell?" he asked turning towards the sorcerer.

"I do." he nodded in response, "Why, is there a problem?"

"Whilst the Sun is going down now, so it might not be as prominent, the whole feel of this world is off. The rays of your Sun seem to be more intense, I would not like to take chances if possible."

"I see." Charmcaster nodded, understanding the concerns, he was quite used to judging things with how they 'felt' with his own Albedo so he chose to believe the other Galvan as he casted a small barrier like spell on everybody present, "This should protect us from most environmental dangers present."

"Thank you, that will suffice." female Albedo smiled as she and her counterpart nodded to each other and the group set off.

Walking around the seemingly endless wasteland the two Galvans caught the other three up on the fine details of their conversation from before. Mostly about Albedo's world, and his power differences compared to their own. They, expectedly, marveled at the fact that he was immortal, and the unethical way he copied abilities. But all were at a loss at the meaning of the words appearing whenever he arrived in a different world, of course he simplified it since the words appeared at any new location he visited. Their talk concluded after a good hour and yet they still did not find any sort of buildings or civilization, not even remnants. However, this changed after about an additional twenty minutes when giant ruined skyscrapers filled their sight. It was close to dusk now, the Sun descending slowly over the horizon. The evening Sun illuminated how the once glorious buildings toppled over and into each other, windows shattered, sand covering the bottom of most. What once might have been a bustling cityscape was now no more than a few ruins. There could not have been more than four still sticking out enough from the ground to be considered shelter as the group hastily made their way over to it.

"Guess that confirms that this is some sort of apocalypse scenario." Albedo mused, his brows in a frown.

"Not the most pleasant sight." female Albedo sighed. "Have you seen sights such as this?"

"We have seen some other forms of apocalyptic scenarios yes, but none where the vegetation was almost completely gone." he answered, looking around as they neared the buildings.

"What could have caused all this?" Jen asked, looking around with concern, not liking one bit what she saw.

"Judging by you humans' history, it could have easily been another war. Perhaps one on a nuclear scale? Only that could I imagine doing this to the landscape." Albedo explained with disinterest, "Humans are always capable of destroying themselves quite efficiently, yet there are still those that survive." he sighed deeply, "Even so, this is quite the destruction. I would not actually be surprised if humanity has completely died out in this world, however that we cannot be sure of just yet. Also explains what I have been feeling about the Sun and the air in general, it is entirely possible that the ozone layer as a whole was damaged because of whatever caused all this."

"I see." female Albedo nodded, agreeing with the claims, "That indeed has some basis."

"You seem quite judgmental of us dude." Rex commented.

"Oh, I do believe our worlds are somewhat exempt from such tragic war like scenarios thanks to the presence of aliens and various peace keepers, but in worlds where there are only humans, one sees things whilst traveling through the dimensional border my young friend." the Galvan added, "War is always the same with you humans, fighting each other over trivial matters in the long run, I will never understand that." he suddenly clapped his hands together, shaking everyone back to their current situation, "My, look at how gloomy I made you all with my ramblings! Let us not worry about that for now. If the portal sent _all_ of us here than there must be something for us to do."

"How can you be so sure of that?" his female counterpart asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, why of course every place we visited had some sort of conflict to solve thus far... No never mind, not every place, but the majority did! This should not be any different now should it?"

"Ha, when you put it that way." Jen grinned. "It sounds _really_ reassuring." she added sarcastically.

The aliens' eyes narrowed, before turning around "Now that we are here, I propose we take shelter in one of these buildings." Albedo said, looking towards the horizon, "From the looks of it a nasty sandstorm is brewing close to us, I am sure we would not want to be caught by that." the others nodded in unison. "Also, thanks to the protection spell whatever had felt off we are safe from. Though if I had to guess with how hot the Sun's rays are even in these late hours, perhaps an unfortunate side effect of the supposed war as we have thought preciously, but if the UV radiation is higher I would very much like all of you to avoid getting cancer if possible. So thank you once again for the spell."

"Of course." Charmcaster nodded, "It is good that we listened to your feeling if anything."

The other three shuddered, "Yeah." Jen nodded vigorously, "Anything that's better than skin cancer is preferable." she finished.

"That one looks the most protected." female Albedo pointed to a building surrounded by other collapsed ones, "Should work the best for our purposes." with that they set off towards the building in question, reaching it in a matter of minutes as night was quickly approaching as well.

_**Ruins, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.**_

"Hmm. With everything else being in a severe state of disrepair I would have expected the insides to be much the same." Albedo commented, taking a look in the room they entered into. Indeed, compared to the multitude of broken windows, and cracked walls the insides were safe, considerably. The floor was broken, cracked of course but nothing inside the room was practically beyond use. "It is almost as if people have been living here just recently."

"That's never a good sign in apocalyptic scenarios is it?" Jen sighed. "They're usually the bandit kinds of people."

"Ha! I would have said you read too much fiction, but that can entirely be possible." female Albedo shrugged, "Either way I think we are capable of handling the situation, were such a thing to arise."

"You got that right." Rex nodded with a confident grin.

Albedo was looking out the window at the moment, his brows furrowed at the storm materializing in the distance, "It would seem we shall have to spend the night here. The storm looks quite serious."

"Great. Second otherworldly trip and we're already stuck in a ditch." Rex groaned.

"I feel ya." Jen nodded in agreement. "It's better than the alternative."

"I guess."

"Do not fret, it should clear up by the morning, then we can find the cause of us being sent here, if there is any to begin with." Albedo smiled, "For now I suggest you try your best to keep warm, the night looks to be a long one."

"Ha, it's funny how we woke up about an hour ago and it's night again." Jen commented. "Is this the ushe for you?" she asked from Albedo.

"Nowadays I would have to say yes." he shrugged, "You get used to it after the first couple of times."

"I guess there's that."

The next couple hours following this conversation were spent anxiously awaiting the storm. The group did not speak much after that, having no real topics to talk about and on the other hand the silence helped them pay attention to the surrounding sounds more. The wind blowing slowly, the close by sound of arachnids skittering about the floor, afraid of the new occupants of the room, the breathing of their friends. Time slowed as their senses seemed to pick up all of the surrounding sound with ease now. Soon enough, not long before the storm got there if Albedo had to guess, they finally heard voices different from each other's, coming nearby, getting progressively closer. They listened in, in the hopes that their new arrivals who were bound to find them there would not be immediately hostile... However, Albedo's eyes practically bugged out of his skull as he heard the voices in more detail upon them closing in. Soon enough, Charmcaster seemed to pick up the familiarity of one of the voices, which should not have been possible.

"Ha! We somehow made it back before the storm!" one voice, belonging to a young male, sighed in relief from downstairs under their floor, separated from them by a single staircase.

"Told you exploring was a bad idea!" a female voice snapped, her annoyance clearly reflecting in her tone.

"But without exploring, what's the fun?" the familiar voice asked as they seemed to be getting louder, presumably from climbing up the stairs.

As the girls and sorcerer took semi battle stances, time seemed to freeze for the Galvan as he looked on towards the stairs leading up to their floor. Not long after, three heads became visible, followed soon by the people they belonged to as they slowly arrived at the top of the stairs. One with messy unkempt brown hair, one with spiky black hair, and one with long flowing white hair in a long ponytail, with magenta tips.

"No way..." Albedo felt himself grinning widely, an unconscious reaction at their new arrivals who froze upon reaching the floor. The other trio looked at the group in surprise, then their eyes locked with Albedo's. Then, without a moment's notice, the girl on the opposing end ran forward before anyone from Albedo's end was able to do anything and hugged the alien tightly who just chuckled gently in response. "Hello to you too dear."

"You left without us again!" the girl pouted, looking up at the alien with teary eyes, "Some brother."

"I thought we wouldn't see your face again!" the brown haired teen grinned as he walked over, reflexively fist bumping the alien who returned the gesture eagerly.

"What are you talking about?" Albedo asked teasingly, "You see my face every time you look into the mirror."

That seemed enough of the clue for Albedo's group to start looking at their new arrivals in more detail. The brown-haired boy, wearing the same clothing as Jen, the spiky haired one dressed the same as Rex, and the girl with the magenta shirt under a black sleeveless west with form fitting pants and a pair of boots.

"Ah, so that's how it is." Charmcaster smiled as he stood up from the ground, walking over to their new arrivals, stopping not too far from them intending on letting them catch up.

"How are you all here?" Albedo asked in wonder, "In the specific place I got sent to?"

"I dunno where you ended up dude, but we came here... No we got dropped out here roughly an hour after you left, according to our tall amigo back home." the black haired boy mused, "That was what, three weeks ago now?"

Albedo's eyes went wide, "Three _weeks_?"

"Y-yeah." the brown haired boy nodded reluctantly, "Why?"

"Benjamin... I left about two hours ago." he revealed as everyone's faces around them reflected their shock at the revelation, "So it happened again..." he let out a lengthy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Either way, I am happy to see you are all doing well. Though that makes me wonder, how exactly did you find sustenance for three weeks in such a barren wasteland?"

"Ha!" the white-haired girl proudly smacked her chest, "I have learned of our four months of torture! I store food in a pocket dimension now!"

"Whilst that is ingenious Charmcaster my dear, I worry about the reason you had to do so." Albedo cringed.

"It's all on you!" Charmcaster snapped with a pout.

"I see, I apologize." Albedo sheepishly nodded, "One forgets that others still require sustenance to function whilst they do not."

"Alright, okay, now that we know everything and everyone is fine and dandy and all..." Rex, the remaining person, commented, "I think it's time we address the elephant in the room. Who are _these_ guys?" he asked pointing towards the three on the ground and the sorcerer not too far from them standing next to a wall, quietly listening.

"Oh indeed! Let me introduce you-" Albedo smiled as he grandiosely walked over to the other group, "-to your alternate gendered selves!"

"Who with the what now?" Ben asked hastily with raised eyebrows, Jen just looked at him with a chuckle in response.

"Indeed!" Albedo grinned wider, "I have ended up in quite a similar world to ours Benjamin just before this one."

The two Rexes looked each other over, leaned in close, inspected the other party close, walked around each other in circles before grinning and extending a hand which the other shook vigorously, but not before the both of them simultaneously declared: "Hey girl/dude me is pretty hot!"

"Do we call that an ego or..?" male Charmcaster asked, finally walking over to his female counterpart who just sighed.

"I don't even know how Rex works." she responded as the two shared a sympathetic look and laughed.

"So... _You're_ Ben huh?" Jen walked closer to Ben and smiled as he looked at him, "Nice clothes!"

"Hey, same goes to you!" Ben grinned as the two fist bumped each other, "I guess great minds think alike?"

"Well according to your Albedo our universes are really similar so I'd guess so?" Jen shrugged as the two shared a laugh as well.

"My, I expected all of you to be a lot more surprised." female Albedo addressed Albedo's group in the room with a curious smile.

"Eh, after a while you get desensitized." Ben shrugged, "Plus I've already met about seven different versions of myself so one more is not too big of a deal."

"Hey, no fair!" Jen pouted, "That didn't happen with me."

"Eh, I doubt you'd want Vilgax trying to destroy all the timelines but the one where you don't get the Omnitrix so he could rule with an iron fist, to be fair." Ben shrugged.

"Yikes." Jen deadpanned, "What the hell kinda lives do you guys have?"

"Hectic." Ben cringed at all the terrible memories, "Especially nowadays."

"Go figure." Jen nodded, "Your grandm-_father_ doing okay?"

"Still not woken up." Ben revealed sadly, "But he's getting better. You?"

"About the same." Jen sighed, "But from what I hear you guys are four months ahead of us, even with all the stopped time business so you got that going for you."

"Hah, you say that but you figured out time has stopped before Albedo did." Ben laughed.

"I chalk it up for our resident Galvan being a lot more impulsive than yours."

"Hey, I heard that!" female Albedo snapped from behind them causing the two to look at each other and just laugh.

"So you traveled with your Albedo for four months?" male Charmcaster asked with intrigue resonating in his voice.

"Me and another friend of ours yeah. We never knew where we would end up." she suddenly shuddered, "There were some _baaad_ places man."

Just seeing the visible horror in his counterpart's eyes let male Charmcaster know that he should not push the topic further, "Still, I find that impressive. To be able to just fearlessly jump into a blue swirling abyss without knowing where you'd end up? Takes guts in my book."

"I was like that the first few times yeah." Charmcaster admitted, "But after a while the fear just gets replaced by curiosity and then you're just wondering where you'll end up next, sometimes its places like this, other times it's a world made of candy. It's practically a Russian roulette."

"A world made of... candy?" male Charmcaster raised an eyebrow, "That sounds strangely intriguing."

"It was. For the first week." Charmcaster nodded, "Then you realize that everything you have ever known is sticky."

"It is good that you lot are getting acquainted as it seems we will have to spend the night." Albedo joined them with a sigh, looking back out of the broken windows. "Have you encountered anything sapient so far?" he asked turning towards Ben. "Or any life forms for that matter?"

"From what we've seen when we could go out, small desert animals seem to be thriving around here." Ben explained, "We _have_ heard voices, but from the snippets, they aren't exactly a friendly bunch. Though I wouldn't expect that from a world like this anyway." he sighed, remembering a version of himself being a tyrannical overlord in a similar world. "If there are decent people out there, they're sure as hell not around here." he concluded.

"I see." Albedo sighed, "That is... unfortunate." he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "That means that we will more than likely have to fight, shall we have an encounter with another party."

"Highly likely yeah." Rex nodded.

"Anything else we should take note of?" female Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, her hands mimicking her writing in an imaginary notebook.

"The Sun kills."

"Excuse me?" both Albedos asked in unison.

"Well not in the literal sense." Charmcaster corrected, "But the Sun during the day is extremely hot, so we guessed that the ozone layer might have been slightly damaged in whatever caused this to happen to this world. I say slightly because we are still alive and without disease even though we went out in the blazing Sun." she explained, "Though I did cast a slight protection spell on all of us so that might have helped."

"So, in a nutshell it gets extremely hot during most of the day." Rex generalized. "We found these ruins not long after arriving in this world and had to stay here for most of the days."

"If anything sapient is out there, I'm pretty sure they are adapted to what this world has become, and if they are humans then..."

"So basically the only way to live actively in this world is going underground I'm guessing?" female Rex asked with a raised finger, "Then you guys are pretty lucky."

"Lucky is right." Albedo nodded, "Before arriving here I have felt that the Sun was not what we are used to, sadly my suspicions have just been confirmed by our own actions and now even you. On that note, are you sure you three are all right? UV radiation should not be underplayed."

"We're good." Ben nodded with a happy smile, he wouldn't have thought a year ago that Albedo of all people worrying about his wellbeing would feel good. "Just as Charmcaster said she had a protective spell cast on us and even checked us with another spell, all vitals are normal and no abnormal conditions were present."

"And when exactly did _you_ learn that?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin, just messing around since male Charmcaster had the same spell cast on his new friends just today.

"I quite literally learn something new every day." the girl proudly declared. "I found a medical spell book in one of the libraries we went to and just stored it for later." she explained, then her eyes went wide, "I meant the info! I didn't steal the book!"

Albedo laughed, "Of course. I never suspected otherwise." he then sighed in relief, "That is good then."

"May I see that book perhaps?" male Charmcaster asked, "It would prove useful for both of us to help with protection I believe."

"Oh sure!" Charmcaster beamed, as she started searching next to her in _thin air_. According to her the opening to her pocket dimension was invisible to those without magic power, so at most only Ben and Jen could see a small fragment besides the two sorcerers with their partial Anodite heritage. "There it is." she smiled as she handed the book over. The two spellcasters soon sat down at a nearby ruined table to go over the books.

"She seems to be enjoying his company." Albedo smiled, genuinely happy that the girl finally had someone to talk about common interests with. Well, common interests in the field of magecraft.

"You are telling me." female Albedo smiled as well, "Seems this meeting was profitable for not just us two."

"Seems that way."

The sandstorm finally reached them, but not long before that they took shelter in a room that the trio barricaded in their time in this world. With the windows barred and their only light source being the spells of the two sorcerers floating as a magenta orb, the people sat close to each other, as with all other deserts the temperatures drastically lowered in the night. Charmcaster's trauma filled four months provided enough insight for her to be ready for any occasion, pulling out a multitude of blankets and edibles from a small portal she conjured up, deciding that messing around in thin air seemed to be weird to everyone but her other self. There was even a rather large blanket, if Albedo had to guess it was the size of Slenderman, he silently smiled at the thoughtfulness of the giddy girl. He could not fathom what she must have been like when she was obsessed with power as Benjamin had told him, but as him and the brown haired hero locked eyes with each other, they both seemed happy at who she has become now.

"Assuming that since you needed to fortify this room, another similar storm has passed by earlier during your stay?" female Albedo asked, covered from the neck down in a dark green blanket, making her look like a spring roll. She of course was not actually cold, but liked the warmth in her heart that the blanket provided, it was a feeling she could not actually explain were she asked why.

"Oh yeah, it caught us off guard the first time." Rex nodded as he cringed at the memory, "Me and Ben blocked the side that was mainly hit whilst Hope looked around for anything we could use for a temporary blockade. We fortified it better once the whole thing blew over."

"They seem to be quite frequent." Ben commented.

"It would be quite disheartening if this turned out to be a place that is bustling in our world." Albedo admitted.

"Imagine this place being Jersey or something." female Rex shuddered.

"Why Jersey?" male Charmcaster asked.

"Dunno." female Rex shrugged, "First thing that came to mind."

The group shared a chuckle as they continued the idle talk until everyone but the two Galvans fell asleep. They just looked over everyone sleeping with a smile on their faces, silently chuckling with each other. Soon after, in the middle of the night the storm quieted down as the duo looked out at the moonlit wasteland through a small gap in the barriers, not a sign of life besides the visage of similar ruins in the distance. As if reading the other's thoughts, the two wondered what could have caused this to this world. Perhaps if Albedo's theory is right, then it would not exactly be surprising with the eternal internal conflict of humanity. As much as the two hated their own planet, one thing they agreed on and that was that whilst most of the Galvans might have been stuck up, they at least knew how to live in peace with each other.

Morning arrived soon, yet they still could not go out thanks to the pure heat radiating through the blocked windows. The two abnormal Galvans had no real heat perception anymore, but everyone else in the room was in agreement that it was hot so they did what first came to mind: They turned into Polar Manzardills, and in a matter of minutes breathed ice to the corners of the room, which acted almost immediately in cooling it down considerably.

"Arctiguana?" Ben and Jen asked in unison, then looked at the other in surprise, only to chuckle.

"Haven't used the guy in a while, now that I think about it." Ben mused. "Nice, now I can actually exist in this room." he sighed as he fell back, laying on the floor.

"Wait how did you guys stay cool then?" Rexanne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh similarly, I just used Big Chill." Ben waved dismissively, "But that didn't last as long as Arctiguana's now that I think about it."

"Indeed, the internal compound Necrofriggians use to freeze objects is different in the make-up from a Polar Manzardill's." Albedo nodded as he turned back, "Whilst a Necrofriggian's freezing power might be stronger, it will not last as long in the extreme heat present here." he explained. "However, on a normal temperature scale, both should last quite a while." he then chuckled, "Plus if the room needs cooling now we have four people who can actively transform so I believe we should be alright."

"True that." Jen nodded. "So, what's the plan on getting home?"

"If by chance we only arrived here on a coincidence then I believe we shall have to wait." Albedo declared, "On the other hand however, if we do have something to do like with most of our previous cases I advise we get to it so we can safely get home."

"I see." female Albedo nodded, once again mimicking writing into a notebook.

"I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you doing?" Charmcaster asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Taking mental notes!" she explained. "I just like to do the motion."

"Do you do the same?" male Charmcaster asked from Albedo.

"Of course. Just without the motions." he chuckled. "Now then, I believe it best we wait until dusk and head out then."

"That would be for the best yes." his counterpart nodded, "We cannot risk you all dying on us."

"The same goes for you too missy." Albedo scolded his other self, "Unlike me, a certain someone is not confirmed to be able to revive."

"Wait, you're not immortal?" Rex asked.

"Never really had the chance to check you know?" she shrugged.

"Oh yeah, I get ya."

"Fine, fine I get it, I shall be careful." she sighed, "Better?"

"Indeed."

"Why does your voice sound like you need to take care of a bunch of kids?" Ben asked.

"Why, is that not what I am doing?" Albedo chuckled.

The group shared a small laughter as female Albedo just pouted with crossed arms. Having nothing productive to do, Rexanne pulled out a deck of cards as everyone safe for the two Albedos began playing the whole day away. Keeping points on the worn floor boards Ben and Jen were tied for first place as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. So much so that no one seemed to notice that the Sun was on its way down past the horizon once more.

"Alright people, it is time to move out." Albedo clapped twice, catching everyone's attention. "We have to do something productive after all."

Before heading off the two sorcerers surrounded everyone but the two Albedos in a more compound spell than the one male Charmcaster used before, one that would help them not freeze during the night or should they still be outside in the morning, protect against the Sun's rays. When asked why they did not use the spell to keep warm during the previous night the two explained that whilst the barrier does keep its occupant somewhat warm it would have not much effect on a stationary target. Basically, it was a motion sensing heater, which helped movement through cold environments but not actually perpetually staying warm. The explanation seemed satisfactory as everyone turned towards the stairs.

_**Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.**_

Setting off, the group of eight left behind their shelter for the past night and day and entered the vast wasteland in front of them. Walking for a good while in a direction the two Albedos agreed on, Albedo seemed to tense up yet still continued forward. He looked behind him, not moving his head too much, only his eyes as he locked eyes with Ben.

'_We are being followed_.' he transmitted his thoughts never once turning back, '_A group of fifteen or so, adults by the feel of them. For now, act natural until we know their intentions that is_.'

Ben pulled off a thumbs up as he went to scratch his head with his right hand as everyone else quietly signaled as well that they understood. They continued in silence forward, unblocked from their destination, yet Albedo still felt whoever it was following them, wondering why they still have not made their move yet.

'_I suppose they are waiting for us to settle down to rest._' Albedo thought, sharing the thoughts with everyone else again, once again surprising the alternate gendered counterparts with the sudden voice in their heads, but even then they did their best to not act too surprised, '_Let us lure out our rude stalkers, shall we?_' the others nodded in response as Albedo slowed to a halt, then turned to his left, as if just noticing the building not so far from them. "I believe we should rest there for tonight." he said, a bit louder than he intended to.

"It's about time!" Ben groaned in fake annoyance, "We were walking forever!"

'_Your acting got better._' Albedo commented teasingly.

'_Shut up._' Ben pouted.

Walking closer to the building, Albedo felt multiple presences converging behind them and beside himself grinned, '_Hook line and sinker._' he commented, sharing his thoughts with everyone else, who obviously could not really feel other people.

_**A Lonely Building, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.**_

Everyone occupied a different location inside the room the entered into and quickly pretended to go to sleep, mimicking fatigue from the walking. Shortly after roughly fifteen or so people entered through the missing wall of the room. The two Albedos listened with bated breath to every detail of their conversation. Albedo would have preferred to calmly diffuse the situation... however the next details of the conversation of two who seemed like leader figures made his blood boil with fury as a vein was visible on his forehead in anger.

A ragged, bearded man, dressed up in a rather typical post-apocalyptic attire, consisting of ragged and at some places ripped clothing, still covering most of his skin, covered with various metal and rebar connected to worn leather used as protection. Upon further inspection all of the others who have entered were dressed similarly. The man, previously described and thought to be the main leader figure, chuckled silently.

"...Look boys!" he dramatically turned around, arms wide, "We hit the jackpot today! Women! And a bunch of 'em, not to mention quite a fine bunch as well!" he snickered, still trying his hardest to be silent as the others did the same, lecherous and depraved expressions etched onto all of their faces... Albedo has heard enough. Before his female counterpart could even react, he was gone, nowhere to be seen, appearing seconds later in front of the leader, gripping him by the throat with his inhumane power, holding him up high above his head. The metal plate around his neck, serving as makeshift protection began giving away under the sheer pressure of the alien's grip. It was apparent to his friends that something was not right with the alien's furious reaction.

"Oho? Is that so?" he grinned sadistically, once again not realizing he did so as Charmcaster began to look worried from the back upon hearing the tone of his voice, "The jackpot you say..?"

"W-what the hell?!" one of the men gasped in horror upon the sight of what was happening in front of him. The leader was dangling helplessly at the mercy of a... a kid. As soon as he looked at the eyes of said kid however he felt as if all hope had left his body, the sheer pressure his presence emitted made him fall to his knees.

Before anyone of Albedo's group could do anything, the leader whilst gasping for air reached into a holster on his leg with great effort that went unnoticed by his captor as he pulled out a gun, a simple yet not too stable looking pistol and shot Albedo in the face point blank. A loud bang went out as everyone's eyes went wide at the sight. Albedo's group wanted to believe that he'd be okay, but at the sight of what just happened they couldn't really think rationally... That is until taking in the fact the alien who should have probably died or at least fallen back just began chuckling without even recoiling from the shot, half of his face a mangled mess of tissue his voice distorted by his injuries.

"Wrong answer." he declared calmly, tightening his grip. The metal around the man's neck was practically fused with his skin by that point as Albedo just looked at him with disdain, "I believe this is goodbye." he said, his face slowly beginning to heal... as he tossed the man outside with enough force for him to disappear behind some dunes, not before taking half of the group with him however who all scattered atop the sand dunes outside. Soon after he looked at everyone still remaining in front of him as they in their frightened haste could not even reach for their guns. The sight of the horribly disfigured face healing without an issue was enough to cause them to lose their hope, but the alien kept advancing, however before they could so much as run, at an inhumane speed Albedo downed all of them with punches and slaps at the force of cinder blocks.

"**ALBEDO!**" Charmcaster's worried voice rang out causing the alien to look at the worried girl in confusion. To her horror, inexplicably so, Albedo's irises were shrunken down, smaller than their usual size, as if signaling that something was not right, he cocked his head to the side in question as he lifted his foot off the back of one man on the ground and stared at her blankly, before his irises returned to their normal size and he shook his head in confusion, looking at his shaking hands in horror.

"What exactly happened around here?" he asked in his best effort to stay calm as the sorceress' worries grew.

"You happened." Ben chipped in, worried much the same at what just happened.

"W-what..?" Albedo's eyes went wide, "A-again..? I blanked out again?"

The girl meekly nodded, unsure of how to be supportive right now, "You even spoke this time..." she declared, "Your tone, your demeanor... They were so different." she added, her worry audible in her voice clearly.

"I..." Albedo just blankly stared at his own hands, not remembering anything from the past two minutes, his last memory being his anger... Anger at these men under him and their vile thoughts, they shou- '_No!_' he snapped in his thoughts, holding his head in pain, '_Stop! That is not me!_'

'_**Of course not...**_' a different voice sounded in his head, not one he knew, not precisely, as he looked around the ruined building as if the voice came from nearby him, '_**You and I are obviously not the same...**_' it said before it faded away, leaving the alien alone with his thoughts. His face now fully healed, it was hidden behind his hands as he covered his face in a complex array of emotions.

However before any conversation or explanation could be had at all... The ground began to shake violently under them as the sole remaining member of the bandit group, who Albedo assumed to be a secondary leader just laughed mindlessly surrounded by the bodies of his comrades. They, by the looks of it, were still alive even if barely yet he seemed to have lost it.

"THEY'RE HERE!" he snapped, pointing a shaking index finger at Albedo, causing the alien to face him, "This is what you deserve for what you did! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" he snapped, as female Albedo walked up to him and wacked him enough to knock him out, just as concerned about his counterpart as everyone else.

"You talk way too much you know that?" she asked sarcastically as the ground continued to shake. As she looked out the room's missing wall, in the distance something could be seen _slithering through the sand_. To female Albedo's evolved eyes it seemed to be covered in cream colored hard scales from the parts sticking out occasionally as it made its way towards them. "Albedo!" she snapped, bringing her other self back to the present as his worries seemed to be gone for now, "We have company!" Multiple of the same creatures could be seen converging on their location slowly but surely from the distance as the alien audibly gulped in shock.

"What is it?!" Ben snapped in a worried tone.

"...Sandworms." Albedo slowly declared, his composition slowly turning into panic. Charmcaster ran up to him and shook his shoulder in a panicked hurry.

"Sandworms?!" she snapped, "Here?! How?!"

"What?" Ben asked, "Someone explain! How do you know these things? What even are they?" he asked, himself not yet seeing the creatures.

"Sandworms Benjamin." Albedo repeated.

"I get that! But what are they?!"

"Sandworms." Charmcaster repeated as well, both of them shaking.

"Explain already!" female Albedo snapped.

Albedo coughed awkwardly, regaining his composure a little, "Sandworms, as the name would suggest, are large omnivorous worms usually living in quite warm climates... In a different world... _Or so I thought_."

"Okay. Big worms." Jen nodded, slightly disgusted, "What's so bad about them?" that questioned caused both Charmcaster and Albedo to just look at her in an awkward stare, slightly unnerving the brunette girl.

"Their bodies tend to be anywhere between 50 and 150 meters long, covered in extremely tough scales that are nigh impenetrable and are capable of regenerating at insane speeds."

"Why would the scales need to rege-" Ben stopped himself, "Oh no."

"Yes. They can flare up if angered, threatened or in general when its hunting and is capable of firing multiple rows of its scales that tear through flesh as if it was tissue paper. On occasion, the scales are coated in a biotoxin as well that paralyzes its victims. A large mouth occupies the space on the head of the worm filled with about fifteen rows of small sharp teeth that practically act like a saw when biting... And they are attracted to blood and the pheromones the body generates when you are afraid..."

"H-how impenetrable are we talking here..?" Ben was afraid to ask, thinking back on the detail about their scales.

"A Petrosapien was blocked without issue." Albedo explained then he began visibly shuddering, "My sheer raw inhumane strength could also barely do anything to them."

That sentence alone hit the nail hard on the head for everyone to realize why exactly the two of them were so afraid of the creatures, if even Albedo's overpowered strength could barely dent the creatures, and multiple were arriving at their location shortly, their only option was to run.

"How did you defeat one when you met them the first time..?" Rexanne asked, fearing it was a wrong question.

"Defeat..? No, no, no." Albedo shook his head.

"Jeff jumped inside one and cut up its insides and the thing just effortlessly spit him out... Then it got angry."

"These creatures are apex predators." Albedo concluded, "With no natural predator or enemy, this creature will be your grave if we stay here."

After a couple seconds of silence everyone in the group nodded in agreement. The two Rexes built their rides allowing the two sorcerers on it so they do not expend their mana, whilst Ben, Jen and the two Albedos turned into Kinecelerans, leaving the band of outlaws there in their unconscious state.

"Is it okay to just leave them there?" Ben asked.

"Anyone who would think of a friend of mine as a plaything can gladly become worm food Benjamin." female Albedo declared, Albedo silently agreeing with her, his thoughts still on his recent odd behavior.

"Plus they will probably leave us alone if they eat them right?" Rex awkwardly asked. Normally none of them would have been fine with leaving even people like that behind but this world seemed to operate on kill or be killed, and those who would rather kill others instead can surely expect the same fate to befall on them. Ben was frustrated. His newest friend was acting strange and even he didn't seem to know why, he was forced into the whole portal fiasco reluctantly, and ever since that trip that took two of his friends with it... he seemed to be fine with decisions where he had to sacrifice someone for the protection of his friends... He did not like that, he did not want to be fine with it, he wanted to blame someone else but he knew he chose to act like that by his own will... His friends, his family were a lot more important to him here than some strangers of a different world... He was no longer the famed hero he was a year ago, he acknowledged that fact and took it to heart... Ben Tennyson has changed. Rex was having a similar internal conflict. Ever since curing the EVOs worldwide back home he had not needed to make such decisions, but ever since he arrived here choices like that have become the norm. The two sighed almost in unison as they mulled over what the future may hold for them. Whatever it may be they were ready to protect everyone they held dear.

The group continued in the night, slowing down ever so slightly as it seemed the group of worms has indeed left them alone. With a sigh of relief Rex and Rexanne deconstructed their builds and the others transformed back. They lay down on the soft and cold sand, catching their breaths as everyone turned towards Albedo with worried gazes, everyone but Charmcaster who was practically panicking.

"Okay." Ben sighed, "Now that the situation seems to have calmed down." he started, "Could you share with us too?"

"You are right, I should have told you a long while back." Albedo admitted, "If my memory serves me correct the first ever instance of me losing my head like this happened way before my first death. In fact that was the cause of it." the alien continued to explain how he had lost his head and lost control of his body as it continued to attack Naruto and Charmcaster in the form of an evolved Vulpimancer. "Ever since then, I have noticed that whenever I get angry, if I do not manage to calm myself the anger spirals out of control and with it I lose control of my own body and fall unconscious. It happened before and during our four-month trip as well... Just as it did now, but according to Hope I spoke just now?"

"Yeah." Rex nodded, "You sounded really sadistic dude." he added.

"That is the first instance..." he declared, "Shortly after I heard a deep voice in my head... Telling me how I should know that 'we' are quite different from each other." he shuddered, "I am sorry... I... I do not know what is happening with me lately, if I... If I ever hurt you, I could never live it down... Not after all this time."

"You confided in us." Ben smiled, walked up to him and put a hand to his shoulder, "We can get through this together, I'm pretty sure we can figure out what's wrong with you if we think." he shrugged, "Besides, you pulled us out of a tough spot, not exactly in the most peaceful way but it helped."

"Indeed, it would seem that subconsciously, even if you cannot control yourself in that state of rage, you still possess the knowledge of who your allies are." female Albedo nodded, "Which would mean that whatever is happening to you is caused by a mental state, that acts when you get irrationally angry."

"A mental state?" Charmcaster asked.

"Yes. If we take into account all the things that must be happening to your body day from day, all the changes, the need to adapt to your new immortal state... All those things do not happen in a single day. Perhaps you are overloading your body with the amount of new information you gather from getting attacked or gaining new abilities and that resulted in a glitch of some sorts which manifested in this behavior... Either way this is but a hypothesis for now."

"If that voice is anything to go by..." Rexanne brought up as she glanced at her other self.

"Can't that be some sort of personality?" Rex asked as everyone looked at him with widened eyes, "If what other Albedo says is true, maybe your mind is so overloaded with all the things happening to your body that it created a different personality to help divide all the info to keep itself from overloading?"

"Maybe it sounds wei-" Rexanne started before being cut off by female Albedo.

"That sounds plausible, all things considered." she nodded, "Perhaps it _is_ another mind to help you alleviate the stress... But something might have gone wr-"

"What is it?" Albedo turned to her in confusion, his thoughts already wondering about the possibilities.

"Perhaps... Let me check something on you real quick." she hastily said as she once again started searching through her pockets before finding yet another small device, which she pulled apart from its two sides to reveal a screen, the device now the size of a smaller tablet. She held it up to his head and pressed a button on the side.

"What's that thing?" Ben asked.

"A relatively harmless abnormality checker, mainly for medical emergencies, and as such it has an X-ray as well." she smiled, as she scanned Albedo's head. "This is one of my dumber theorie- And of course it is true. Well I will be damned." she showed the findings on the device to Albedo whose eyes went wide.

"How can this..?"

Ben and Jen could not take the abnormal reactions anymore and the two got up and walked over to Albedo, taking a look at the screen themselves, along with Rex and Rexanne and the two Charmcasters.

"Dude..." Ben's eyes went wide as well, "_Three_ brains..?"

"I suspected something was amiss." female Albedo sighed, "As most of you know, us Galvans have two brains, and even whilst one of them is a backup one they are both capable of working in tandem should there be extra information to process. So I wondered why my other self was suddenly having spurts of unconsciousness and came up with the theory I mentioned earlier."

"So you thought something might be wrong with my main brains after all, correct?"

"Indeed." she nodded, "Still, I never suspected this. You said that this whole behavioral change caused you to die for the first time. Maybe that was the first ever time your mind has gotten confused on what exactly was happening to your body, following that perhaps when you first revived the regeneration process took the DNA of your current body, generating a human brain in the process... But your other brains took their rightful place as well, which more than likely confused your whole system."

"Add in all the deaths since then and boom, unstable mind... huh?" Ben concluded with a sigh, "Dude, I'm so sorry."

"Hah, what are you apologizing for Benjamin? None of this is your fault."

"Maybe... Maybe if we didn't go on that stupid trip Clyde couldn't have gotten away with all this, you wouldn't have needed to go through all that... You wouldn't be having this problem." he said, looking at the ground in what appeared to be shame.

Albedo looked at the hero, eyes going wide, before a light chuckle escaped his lips, he got up and walked over to him, putting an arm on his shoulder, "Do not think like that Benjamin. Were it not for this whole fiasco we might not have ever become friends, or anything of the sort. The universe works in mysterious ways, we both know that now, none of this is your fault. There is no guarantee all this would not have happened were you still here at the time. There is no guarantee that the portal would not have shown up either. Nothing is set in stone, everything happens in a moment's notice, a year ago neither of us would have thought we were capable of this big of a change, but look at us now." he sighed, "Though, if all you say is true my dear other self," he continued turning towards female Albedo, "Do you have an idea about why my backup mind is so sadistic..?"

"Precisely why he's a _backup_."

At the repeat of those words, something seemed to click for Albedo, "You mean... It is a personification of my backup Galvan brain?"

"Wait, wasn't that just there to make you function?" Ben asked, "Azmuth was like a little kid."

"Indeed, that is its main purpose." Albedo nodded, "But if her theory stands correct, maybe my abnormally violent nature before my first demise, combined with the rather simplistic thought process of the backup brain gave birth to the sadistic persona?"

"That would be my guess." female Albedo nodded. "From what you all have told me about the previous appearances of him, he seems to be learning, still irrationally angry but learning. You said he spoke to you, correct?"

"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "But it seemed forced, monotone. As if it was not really him talking... More like recycling things I have said in the past to make the sentence. Perhaps he still has no concept on how to act normally, but wanted to let me know he is there? That is only mildly terrifying." he sighed, "Then again you did say he spoke when he appeared."

"Yeah, but thinking back I get what you mean." Rexanne nodded, "It was a bit deeper and all but sounded forced, somewhat robotic even."

"A will of his own, huh?"

Female Albedo's eyes turned completely black at that moment, "_For now, until you are able to communicate with him properly, I advise you try to keep your calm as much as you can._" a deeper feminine voice advised, as Albedo nodded.

"Yes, that seems to be the best call to make here." he turned back to Ben with a sigh, and sat down next to him, "Listen Benjamin... I... I am sorry about what happened back there. Though I suppose extinguishing a life is not something you can just so haphazardly apologize for."

"Look I... I know how I was back then. I know what we talked about when we escaped. I get it. It should bother me, it really should, we left people to be worm food back there... But right now I couldn't be happier that all of us are here and that bothers me... Some people died so we could live. I had no relation to them, they were scum, they shot you in the face, they deserved it, I wanna feel that way, but there's still a part of me thinking we can't do this."

"Haha." Albedo chuckled almost silently, "I have never seen you of all people so conflicted in your own decisions... But then again, it is not like I disagree with you. I do not want to kill... Not if I can help it, but what happened back then, it was beyond my control, even if I was in control I probably would have done it. If we let them go, there is no telling they will not bite back the first chance they get, in a world like this, where our return home is currently impossible, where we only survive if we depend on each other, I cannot take that chance Benjamin. It just terrifies me..."

"What?"

"How easy it is to choose the violent option." he declared, looking ahead at the numerous dunes in front of them.

"I get ya." they both sighed in unison, "Having power like ours is overwhelming isn't it."

"Most certainly."

"Hey you two! We're moving!" Charmcaster called back to the two of them.

"We're coming!" Ben shouted back as he looked at Albedo, who was still visibly dejected. "Come on, we can't do much just sitting around." he said, extending a hand.

"I suppose you're right." the alien nodded, taking the hand and pulling himself up.

The group of eight continued to aimlessly wonder through the wasteland even after all that has happened. For a while they hung on to the hope that if there were outlaws like the ones they have met there might be human colonies still around as well. But either their luck was terrible, or it simply was not through, they could not find a living soul during the night, not even ruins like before.

"Why even send us here?!" Albedo snapped at seemingly no one, "There is nothing here but sandworms and a never-ending wasteland! What do you want from me? To bond with the others? THAT HAPPENED ALREADY! LET US GO HOME!"

"Who are you even talking to?" Rex raised an eyebrow as he asked.

"I am just venting my frustrations about the irresponsibility of the portal." Albedo explained, "Usually nine out of twelve cases it dropped us in a world where we needed to do something... The other three times were completely abnormal worlds."

"Like the world of candy you have mentioned?" male Charmcaster raised an eyebrow with a smile.

"Indeed, like one such world." Albedo nodded, "Perhaps this is one of those too. You have spent three weeks here without success, and there was nothing noteworthy, I suppose things like this do happen." he let out a lengthy sigh, "Perhaps we just have to find the portal again."

As they continued on in the moonlit wasteland, their only light source being the celestial body itself... Something seemed to give off an eerie glow in the distance, a glow of _pale blue_. As all of them stopped in awe, a strange sound reverberated around them, worming its way into all of their ears... A sound all of them came to recognize.

"No freaking way." Rex shook his head in denial as a huge grin formed on his way. He started to almost sprint forward.

"I suppose this really was a useless trip." Albedo let out another sigh, this one was of defeat, "What was the point of all this?" he chuckled inwardly as they made their way forward as well.

There it was, in the middle of a small crater floated perfectly still the hole in space. The blue swirling portal, the one that bought all of them here, albeit much calmer than before. As if it was waiting for the right people to enter it, it stood, abiding its time, motionless. Walking closer, the group of eight has never been as elated as currently as they stood face to face with their tormentor and savior in one.

"I do not believe there is any reason to drag this on." Albedo declared, "On the off chance we do not end up in the same location, it was a pleasure meeting all of you."

"Likewise." male Charmcaster nodded, "I do hope we can repeat this sometime."

"Here, take this." female Albedo turned towards her male counterpart, taking something out of yet another pocket. The object was a small orb, barely bigger than a decorative marble. She handed the curious item to Albedo with a smile, "Interdimensional communicator. It worked with the Null Void, so I suppose it is worth a try." as if a lightbulb suddenly lit up above her head, she continued, "Oh, right, before you ask, it is modified to work like the magic comms, undetectable by technology."

"You are quite the little tinkerer are you not?" Albedo chuckled at his other self.

"I just have a lot of ideas." she humbly shrugged. She fidgeted for a bit, before extending a fist, "Until next time?"

"Of course!" Albedo nodded, doing the same. The two fist bumped as each of the counterparts said their goodbyes to each other.

"I hope you get better." Rexanne said to Albedo with a small smile.

"So do I Rex." Albedo nodded, "So do I."

Standing next to each other, in front of the portal, everyone nodded as they stepped in two by two, leaving the terrifying wasteland behind them as the portal finally closed.

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Albedo, Rexanne, Jen and Charmcaster stepped out of the portal to find themselves back in their Lounge, with almost no time passing from when they entered. Almost immediately Rex and Jen threw themselves on the couch in sheer exhaustion as a lengthy sigh escaped their lips. Charmcaster and Albedo just gently chuckled next to them, taking a seat on the remaining couch

"This was something." Rex sighed, her face buried in the couch, "Other worlds are scary." she added with a chuckle.

"I'm with ya." Jen furiously nodded. "Let's never go to a place like that again."

"Still, I suppose meeting other versions of ourselves was a definite bonus." Charmcaster chipped in.

"Oh yeah!" Rex suddenly seemed really excited, "They were so cool! Even if they were us, each of us have similar problems but even then it was so easy to get along with them!"

"Perhaps similar interests do spark up conversation." Albedo mused. "Either way, it is good to be home."

Suddenly two figures rushed out from the nearby corridor as they stopped short of the couches, faces wide in apparent surprise. One was a boy, average height, with pale skin and light gray loose spiky hair, a long lock on the right side of his face with a prominent black streak on it. He wore a white button up shirt, its sleeves rolled up to his elbow, a loose black tie, black fingerless gloves, black pants and boots and a belt and suspenders combination, with a long stretch of the belt dangling loose from the buckle, perhaps the most striking feature of the boy where his eyes. Purple on the top with the bottom curve of the pupil being yellow, segmental heterochromia. He was the boy named Atsushi, visibly calm upon seeing his new friends on the couches.

The other figure, a tall woman with a toned body, abs and arm muscles visible with the gray tank top she wore. Her long brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail as her gray eyes surveyed the room, mainly where the group was sitting at. She wore short shorts along with some running shoes. She was a person who preferred really light clothing, on top of her head a pair of brown wolf ears standing tall, a bushy brown wolf tail swishing behind her. Leia, a proud werewolf, who was currently just really happy that her friends were found.

"Leia, Atsushi!" Rex grinned, "You won't believe the day we've had!"

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Albedo, Rex, Ben and Charmcaster stepped through the portal, arriving in their Lounge curiously. The trio looked around as Albedo just sat down and let out a lengthy sigh.

"Are we really back home?" Charmcaster asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Wait about two seconds." Albedo smiled, in the time given the tall man suddenly appeared in the room, "Yup, we are home."

The tall man let out a happy chuckle, '_Welcome back, all of you!_'

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard closing in on them from a nearby corridor, as Jeff appeared, his face angry, at the end of the turn. "You left me home again!" he shouted angrily as he practically dashed towards the couches only to be stopped by Slenderman, "No fair!"

"Your lust for adventure never ceases to amaze me young man." Albedo chuckled.

"Still, you guys won't believe the day we've had!" Rex laughed.

_**Admittedly, the second part is a tad bit shorter as this was initially meant to be one full chapter, but for some reason there was an issue with a file upload so I just split it into a more easily accessible two-parter. Albedo's question seemed to hit the nail on the head towards the end there, what even was the point of sending them to this world? From the portal's perspective, it was just a random opening, a prank of sorts if you can call it that. But unbeknownst to them, the group made some unforgettable friends and bonded with them through the act of running away from invincible omnivorous worms. Truly a memory to look back to.**_  
_**Not so action packed overall, more focus was on character building than anything as Albedo's psyche is seemingly collapsing more and more. He's gonna be fine... Probably. (I'm not a doctor, don't look at me.)**_  
_**Plus we've got introduced to the reverse gang! The perfect people to run away from worms with... I feel like I have already said that. Whilst not as prominent as in this chapter, they are planned to be supporting characters so expect to see them from time to time!**_  
_**Nonetheless, I see no reason to drag out the end word so I'm just gonna leave now, Hopefully the next chapter comes out sooner, thanks for sticking around.**_


	4. A rather Equine conundrum

_**Alrighty, I feel I should clarify that I my absence was caused because I have started university. Whilst I was adjusting and getting a feel of things, I did not have much time to write. As such updates may become scarce but in my free time, I am still working on chapters so no worries there. Speaking of which, we are about to delve into the main part of the second Arc, which should be a lot longer than the prologue (Arc I) was, at least that is the plan anyway. All the current players are now set and in motion, all that is left for us to do is just to start it all. As such, without further ado:**_

_**P.S.: Jeff's favorite pastime is swearing.**_

Chapter 4: A rather Equine conundrum

_**Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

A week has already passed by since Albedo, Ben, Rex and Charmcaster returned from a rather unforgiving wasteland... Or so Albedo thought at least since with time being at a standstill, it was getting significantly harder and harder to tell how much time was actually passing by. It was always the 30th of June. Perpetually. Nevertheless, even despite the circumstances, the alien was painstakingly tinkering away at the desk inside his room, only a desk lamp to accompany his progress, which provided a surprising amount of light.

'My word, this little thing is a lot more complex than I first thought.' he thought, scratching his head, a small smile on his face 'Though if I mean to toot my own horn it _was_ made by an alternate version of me.' he added musingly as he tinkered away at the small cylindrical pencil like device in his hand. 'Or perhaps we just overcomplicate things as usual. Certainly would not surprise me.'

Indeed, the alien was hard at work on replicating the cloaking device his counterpart had showed him so generously not so long ago. Whilst his world was currently rather free from frequent otherworldly encounters besides the occasional portals that had opened up in their base curiously, the device itself would help _them_ out tremendously in other realities should the situation arise. He had already experienced what it was like to be a human in a world that has never even heard the term not to mention seeing a live specimen, and suffice to say he did not want a repeat of it anytime soon. As he was lost in his thoughts however there was a rather forced knock on the door, progressively getting louder and rasher, almost playing on a rhythm. The door however wouldn't open to anyone right now, since a lock order was placed on it by its owner. Still Albedo could tell that if the door was not made from the strange metal found all over the base it would have broken off by now.

"Yo! You in there, you hermit?"

It was Jeff. His tone sounding rather irritated, the young man angrily paced around in front of the door, one hand in his pocket, visibly holding himself back from actually trying to bash the door down even with the knowledge that it would prove to be futile. Even with the eternal smile etched onto his face one could easily tell he was quite peeved, veins almost visible on his forehead but the reason for it was anyone's guess. It was Jeff after all.

"My, you are quite lively this morning." Albedo chuckled as he opened the door to come face to face with the eerie smile along with the unimpressed eyes glaring a hole through him.

"Dude, it's two in the afternoon." Jeff deadpanned, letting his hands fall as his left eye twitched in anger, at the statement causing Albedo's eyes to widen.

"My... Is it really?" Albedo awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "Seems I lost track of time whilst inside here."

Jeff looked past him and scoffed at the dimly lit room, "No shit. This room hasn't seen sunlight in ages man." he sighed as if he was scolding a child, a somewhat surprising reaction coming from him, "Are you still working on that little whatchamacallit thingy?"

"Indeed, but I am mostly applying the finishing touches now."

Jeff's eyes seemed to visibly light up, "You mean you will finally get out of the room in this decade?"

"You seem quite adamant on getting me out of here." Albedo mused with a light chuckle.

"Well, duh, whenever you are up and moving about that portal thing always appears!" Jeff stated matter-of-factly, which was soon followed by a laugh which also ended rather abruptly, "I. NEED. ADVENTURE." he punctuated each word by getting progressively closer to Albedo's face, and with him being a tad bit taller than the alien he was practically pushing him into the ground.

"I really want to refute that but it seems to be strangely accurate." Albedo sighed dejectedly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head whilst also gently pushing Jeff off of him.

"It's just something that literally pokes your eye out after a while." Jeff shrugged, "Most of the openings have been somehow related to you even before me from what I've heard. So, in a nutshell you're just super danger prone." he let out a short sigh, "Plus last time all of you left me here! Again!"

"To be fair to you, I sincerely doubt you would have liked to deal with Sandworms again Jeffery." Albedo declared with a small grin.

Jeff however immediately went silent, and after a couple of seconds gulped loudly, "O-on second thought, home was nice."

"Haha, figured as such." the alien smiled warmly.

"Anyways, if it means you'll finish faster, I won't keep ya." Jeff composed himself as he turned to leave.

"I shall try to be quick then. It should be ready by today."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we need to go somewhere by today then. That seems like a flag if I've ever seen one." Jeff added with a smirk as he walked away. "Just try to go without me." he added as he turned the corner.

"I would not dream of it." Albedo smiled as the door closed behind him.

'_Aren't you... afraid?_' a meek voice asked in his head as he was walking away. One Jeff was all too familiar with. '_At all?_'

Jeff grinned warmly, "Hell no kid, that's _your_ job." he silently added. "I'm not afraid of everything, which as it turns out is quite the detriment. I'm the dumbass that would get himself killed first chance if he could. You're here to keep me rational, remember?"

'_Y-yeah, okay._' the voice of his younger self responded with a little more force, as if pumping himself up '_I'll try._'

"You won't have to try." Jeff reassured him, "You're a natural. Trust me. You've done great so far."

_**The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Jeff entered the Lounge, his hands in his pockets and his face grumpy, making his way slowly over to one of the couches. He practically jumped on the thing and put both legs onto the glass table in front of him as he let out a long sigh with a scoff. Letting his head hang back over the back of the couch, he looked up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

"So, what is it this time?" Ben chuckled knowingly as he walked up from behind him, causing the young man to look up at him with a raised eyebrow as if asking 'Seriously?'. "Hey, I think I told you he should come out when he's done. I also said 'I hope' for reassurance." he added with a cocky grin, emphasizing his quote with his hands. "Don't blame me."

"Yeah, yeah, you did." Jeff waved dismissively, but nodded nonetheless "But I still wanted to check. I'm dying of boredom over here." a grin worked its way onto his face, further emphasized by the one that was part of his face, "Still, he said he should be done any time now... Which only means we'll finally go somewhere!" the smile disappeared soon after, "Nevermind what I'm happy about, how's your gramps?"

Ben was initially taken aback by the sudden interest but he responded with what seemed to be a relieved smile, "His breathing is stabilizing more and more as time goes by, and he seems to need less and less of the medication according to the equipment... He's still really thin compared to before though... I sure hope he'll wake up soon." his hands clenched into fists, trembling in apparent anger and frustration "We... _I _really need him now."

"Do you really?" Jeff questioned nonchalantly, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Huh?"

"It really isn't my place to say this, but I mean, you seem to be doing quite well to me." he shrugged, "Mentally I mean. Even after all the shit that happened here, you stepped up to the role you were given, and are effectively the big dude's second in command." he complimented, "Everyone here looks up to you and ever since I got here you never once faltered in anything, not that I've seen anyway. So give yourself some credit. If anything, your gramps is the one who needs you, not the other way around. Now probably more than ever." he shrugged, "But hey, what do I know? I made people go to sleep for a living. I'm really far from all of this."

"Huh, you really think that?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, somewhat touched though thoroughly ignoring the last part.

"Sure I do! You were my childhood hero, I looked up to you even with all the shit that was happening in _my_ life, you gave me hope more times than I could count... And you were just fictional to me then." Jeff smiled, fully turning towards the hero behind him, lightly punching him on the shoulder, "Seeing you up close and personal, being able to meet you? I would practically be all over you! I _would_... But none of our circumstances allow for that do they? This version of your world is turning to shit, and me? Well... I couldn't be farther from what little Jeffy wanted to be as a grown up." he closed his eyes with a shrug, "But the admiration is still there, believe me."

Ben walked over and sat down next to the white skinned man, holding his head in both hands, "I really don't know what to do with all of you." he chuckled silently, "All of you just keep pushing me forward and forward. Where is my input in all of this?"

"Hey dude, we can't let you wallowing in self-pity all the time!" Jeff laughed, putting his arm around Ben's shoulders pulling him a bit closer and looking him in the eyes "Whether you like it or not, this whole mess made us friends... family, something that cannot be taken away. I'm the newest here but you've been together with everyone for months now, you're as close to a family as any. And if we need to be cliché, you know what you need to do when your family is in danger, don't you?"

"When do I not?" Ben asked sarcastically, "Thanks, I think I really needed that."

"Dr. Woods, local psychiatrist, at your service." Jeff said in a formal tone, extending a hand in greeting. "Though probably I'm the one who needs a psychiatrist." he added hastily.

"I won't deny that." Ben shrugged.

"Oi! You're not supposed to agree with me!" Jeff mock pouted, which soon resulted in both of them erupting into laughter.

"Someone's lively." a voice soon came from behind them, catching both of their attention. The groggy, tired but still recognizable voice of Rex spoke up as he rounded the corner, his shirt put on inside out and one of his boots missing. "Anybody seen my boot?"

"Woah. What's with you Rex?" Ben asked, shaken up "You look messed up."

"Didn't exactly get too much sleep y'know?" he emphasized his point by a rather long yawn, "Dunno why really."

"Somethin' on your mind?" Jeff chipped in with his own question.

"I'm... I've been thinking about home." he revealed, "Questioning, time and time again if that conversation we had even happened... On one hand, if it did that's great, cause then Holiday and the others know where I am, but on the other hand if it did not and it was all part of the simulation based on my memories..."

Ben's eyes widened, Jeff's soon to follow, "You don't think..?"

"That we lead the 'Plumbers' towards your Earth do you..?"

"I... I want to say no, but I really, _really_ don't know..." Rex sighed, "Providence is nothing to mess with I get that, but still this Clyde dude's got the numbers on his side, if they were to go through, I dunno what _could_ happen."

"I'm sure your world can handle itself against some make-believe Plumbers." Ben declared, the utmost confidence resonating in his voice. Rex looked at him dumbfoundedly, but then smiled.

"Heh, you may be right." he sighed again, "I may be overthinking it."

"Let's not set up anymore flags here alright? We have enough of 'em as it is." Jeff chipped in, "Also, dude, I can't believe _I'm_ saying this but do something with your shirt okay?"

"Huh?" Rex asked confusedly as he looked down at said piece of clothing, realizing it was in fact inside out. "Oh boy, I really didn't sleep good."

At that moment, a white bundle of fur ran past his legs making its way straight towards the glass table. Leo, the little winged lion companion that Albedo and Ace had picked up a while back was cheerily holding something in his mouth. Only as he came to a stop on top of the table itself did everyone realize that what he was so dearly holding was in fact Rex's missing boot. He sat down, and in a doglike fashion started wagging his tail, almost smiling as he held the clothing item.

"Leo!" Ben chuckled, "That's not a toy!" The cub however just cocked his head to the left in confusion, Ben cringed, thinking the animal had misunderstood him "Of course..."

"You little troublemaker!" Rex chuckled, his mood lifting, pointing towards his left foot, "Do you think you could return that to me?"

As if realization had hit the little cub he ran over to Rex and gently put the piece of clothing down in front of him, then with a strong flap of his wings flew up to be at eye level with Rex, and following his feline nature rubbed his face against his causing the boy to laugh.

"Haha. Okay, okay!" he smiled, "All forgiven." he gently pat the head of the cub, "Speaking of which, you can understand what we say?" the cub nodded rather humanely in response. "Huh, fancy that. I guess only Albedo can actually speak with you though?" the lion nodded again.

"So, you realized what you were holding was a boot when I said so?" Ben asked for confirmation, causing the cub to nod again. "Oh, nice."

"This is the first time I actually caught a glimpse of you." Jeff commented to the cub, "So _you're_ Leo then?"

The cub flew over to Jeff and Ben on the couch and sat down in Jeff's lap, facing him, putting a paw on his body, as some form of greeting. Jeff gently took the paw and shook it comedically.

"I'm Jeff." he grinned, "_You_ are quite adorable."

The three were sure that at that moment if lions could purr the little one in front of them would be doing just that. It almost seemed like little Leo was smiling at Jeff as if trying to imitate his large smile. 'Perhaps whatever world he's from, winged lions are smarter than normal big cats?' Ben mused, 'Then again, this is actual sapience we're talking about her not just usual animal behavior.' he mused further.

"So what's his story?" the white skinned man asked, turning towards Ben.

"According to Albedo, he was running away from poachers when he stumbled through the portal. Wherever this little guy is from his species is hunted for its wings."

Jeff suddenly fell silent, which was so abrupt that the other two and even Leo looked at him in apparent concern. The little lion put both his front paws on Jeff's chest to support himself as he worriedly looked at the young man's face... which was soon decorated by a creepy smile, that sent a clear sense of dread down the lion's spine.

"Say... Do we know how to get to that dimension..?" he asked slowly, his tone dreadfully calm. "Asking for a friend."

"No, we don't." Ben answered with a sigh of relief upon realizing the cause behind his sudden change. He had to admit, that even if this Jeff was a far cry from the basic internet story he was based off of, he could quite easily be the unhinged murderer he was supposed to be, whenever he wanted. "But I share the sentiment."

Jeff let out a lengthy sigh as he rubbed the cub behind its ears, "Anyhow, where is everyone? I'm not exactly an early bird."

"Ace and Krys took up target practice in the training room since the early morning, Charmcaster is still in her room apparently working on a spell which she didn't want to tell me about." Ben explained, counting on his fingers and then twitched a bit, "Slenderman is behind you, and you know where Albedo is."

Jeff willfully ignored the last bit of details Ben has shared with him, "I'm surprised we still have food." he declared, "I mean I know Gwen gave us some, but still, ours is a large group as well, right? Although, compared to that colony or whatever... I guess they have enough for everyone huh?"

"Gwen was more than likely sure to make a list and sort everything, believe me. We won't have a food shortage as long as Albedo or Slenderman can teleport and there are crops growing." Ben explained, "The problem will be the variety down the line I suppose." he added, a tinge of sadness to his voice.

Jeff looked at Ben dumbfoundedly, "Now, hold on a second." he raised a finger and pinched his nose with the other as Ben intently looked at him, "Call me out if this sounds stupid or if I'm wrong but... Don't crops... _require a long ass time to grow?!_" he snapped audibly, gesturing with his hands for added effect, looking at the hero who just calmly maintained eye contact. "How exactly is that 'infinite'?" he asked, making air quotation marks around the last word.

"Yeah, about that..." Ben awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "It normally wouldn't be, I agree. But you know how we deduced a while ago that time is apparently stopped?"

"Yup." Jeff nodded, "I was there."

"Apparently, to what Gwen and the others have observed since then it is actually a full reset." Ben declared; his expression serious.

"...You wanna run that by me again?" Jeff asked hastily, raising an eyebrow.

"After midnight the world completely resets to how it was back on June 30th." Ben revealed, pausing for a bit letting the others catch up, "Meaning no matter what you do with the world itself, everything will return in the morning to how it was before. Say you harvest the vegetables and make food and all, by morning it will be like you haven't eaten the last day... Except of course that we living creatures don't go back..."

"Alright, whilst that is good and all about the whole food situation... And whilst I feel like I should be freaking out currently..." Jeff nodded, folding his arms, "That also means we can't plant anything else. Correct?"

"Yup." Rex nodded, "No matter what we would try, the new crops would just vanish. So, I guess we'll have to make do with what we have."

"That's not gonna get old fast." Ben nodded sarcastically.

"It makes one wonder how exactly did Clyde fuck up this much, huh?"

"I think this is more than a 'fuck up' dude." Rex groaned, "Our traitorous amigo doesn't really strike me as a guy who knows what he's doing. Which is all the more terrifying."

"Oh yeah, that too." Jeff sighed, once again leaning his head over the back of the couch, looking up at the ceiling, "What made this world change so much in the first place?" he pondered, "Clyde wasn't even a character mentioned in passing in the show, meaning he's probably unique to this world. I would guess anyway. Just like Albedo's little crush from a while back."

"Oh believe me, I would like to know that as well." Ben nodded in agreement to his earlier question, "But if Clyde and Rednus weren't even existing people in your show... Maybe this really is a special world. According to Paradox, Rednus does not exist anywhere else either, well not up until last week she didn't. I don't know whether to feel happy or freaked out about that." he let out a lengthy sigh himself.

"Happily freaked out?" Jeff shrugged awkwardly as his voice died up towards the end, gaining a glare from Ben, before all four of them started laughing. Was it from worry, or just to lighten their own mood, none of them knew at the moment.

"I guess we'll just have to live with it for now. Not much else to do. All in all, I'm just happy that everyone I care about is okay."

"Yeah." Jeff smiled, "Your gramps is a tough cookie, he's gonna be kicking ass again before you know it."

That statement prompted a small laugh from Ben, "Ha, I hope you're right. I really do."

"You know I am." Jeff winked confidently.

'_It is always nice to hear you lot chatting happily._' Slenderman declared, his face forming his equivalent of a smile, after calmly listening to their conversation, silently nodding along at crucial points, '_I must say, all this positivity is rather contagious._' he let out a short chuckle. '_Or perhaps I am just getting old._'

"You better get used to it hermano, this seems to be the norm around here." Rex laughed, "These two have their effect on people." he said, referring to Ben and Albedo.

'_Oh yes. It is certainly a lot better than being stuck in a dingy, murderous sapient forest._' he 'sighed'. '_Even coming from me, that sentence has a different vibe to it._'

"In a way the dude saved all of us from somethin' huh?" Jeff chuckled, "That's one hell of a 180."

"Yeah from what you two told me, and comparing it to how I got to know the guy, it's still really hard to believe you weren't on the same side from the start." Rex nodded.

"I guess grief does blind people." Ben let out a lengthy sigh, remembering his own episodes from their trip, "Besides it was partially my fault as well, he came on strong ever since our first encounter but I never actually tried to talk with him." he lamented.

"You are only human Benjamin." Albedo's voice came from behind them, a gentle smiled etched onto his face as he rounded the corner. He leaned against the wall as he asked, "Talking about me, are we?" a raised eyebrow and a small grin followed his question.

"Sorry." Jeff hung his head in regret. "I didn't me-"

Albedo let out a small chuckle, cutting Jeff off, "Do not be." he reassured him, walking over to them, "I am happy you think so highly of me if anything, even despite all that has happened in life."

"You think too low of yourself amigo." Rex shrugged.

"Touché."

"On that note, does that mean you're done?" Ben asked, curiously looking at Albedo's hands, the cylindrical device visible in his right hand.

"Oh, why yes of course!" he proudly presented, "This little device is more than finished. My other self threw together quite the number of interesting ideas to create this, I am surprised I even managed to replicate it."

"Aren't you two technically the same person?" Jeff asked with confusion resonating in his voice.

"Well, in broad terms yes. But if we break our worlds down into details, it seems I am vastly more powerful, whilst she is a lot more creative with her ideas. I overpowered her in a sparring match, yet she came up with a lot of splendid ideas for devices even in critical situations. We both have our flaws and virtues when compared to the other."

"Oh." Jeff nodded, then looked at the device himself "Show me?"

"Of course." Albedo nodded with a small smile, pressing a couple buttons on the side of the device, then pointing it at himself and pressing the large button at the opposite end of it. What resulted was Albedo soon turning into a large bipedal fox in front of them, easily towering over everyone but Slenderman. He was gray in color, with his signature red eyes, wearing his usual clothes, "I have taken the liberty of scanning Ms. Krystal's DNA when the chance arose, this is supposedly a male of her species. Quite handy is it not?" he asked, turning back with another push of the button.

"That's so cool!" Ben excitedly shouted, the others looking at him soon after causing him to awkwardly pretend to cough before continuing, "It's like the ID masks the DNAliens used to use."

"Yes, that appeared to be the base of this little device, but this is a vastly superior one to it." Albedo nodded, "It quite literally makes you part of the race in all aspects until the button is pressed again. Feelings, sensations and the like all get replicated. If perchance you disguise yourself as a sapient creature who for example's sake do not possess fingers or similar appendages, you shall be able to replicate what the original creatures do to hold items."

"Oh, so it really will be like we were born like that creature, huh?" Rex asked with a grin.

"Precisely!" Albedo excitedly nodded, "It is virtually untraceable."

"It requires DNA though?" Jeff asked, holding the device in his hands, Albedo having given it to him moments before, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Well to anything out of this world, it does." Albedo nodded in confirmation, "Obviously since our extended knowledge of the species' found in this world, the device works with just your thoughts. However, each time one disguises themselves with it, the form seems to change, unless the lock option is enabled for the selected race." he added, pointing out said button on the device.

"How much can you store in it?" Rex asked, looking at the device himself. "Assuming it can store DNA."

"Roughly the same as the Omnitrix." he revealed, "However since the transformations are 'permanent' should the device run out of power one will be stuck in the selected form for an indefinite amount of time."

"Oh it needs power?" Ben asked, not even slightly worried about the side effect mentioned.

"Why of course, I cannot exactly throw together an Omnitrix by my lonesome now can I?" he chuckled, "Still, any power source should be capable of powering it, so it is not completely negative." the alien added, "As well as clothing and other such articles adapt to one's new form, and thus none of the powers would be lost, only our race would change." he pondered soon after, "Normal usage time should be roughly 62 hours, I would wager."

'_Intriguing._' Slenderman mused, '_And you have built this exceptional device... in but a week? By yourself?_'

"Well yes, I did try to speed the process up a little, but more or less a week."

"Well, you _are_ a Galvan after all." Ben chipped in before his eyes went wide in realization, gaining a gentle punch to the shoulder from Albedo.

"Ex-Galvan." he corrected, "I have no more relation to that planet."

"Sorry. You're right, my bad."

"No, no, do not worry about that. These are issues of my own." Albedo answered dismissively.

"Now then... Where is it?" Jeff suddenly asked, his tone sounding impatient, throwing everybody around him for a loop.

"Where is what?" Rex asked.

"The portal, what else?!"

"Why would it-" Ben was about to ask before Jeff interrupted him.

"Well, duh! We have a _cloaking device_ finished, which can make us completely concealed! Perfect opportunity for that sucker to show up."

"Whilst I would normally refute that, that does seem to be the pattern does it not?"

"Now that you mention it..." Ben mused.

A couple minutes of silence passed by after Ben's last sentence. A couple minutes of _agonizing_ silence if someone were to ask Jeff. But then it happened, and like a puppy that just got to see its owner after a long time, Jeff stood up from the couch and darted towards the noise.

"FINALLY!" he shouted, "TOLD YOU IT WOULD HAPPEN!"

"Ask and ye shall receive I suppose." Albedo chuckled, the others following suite. His expression gentle, he turned towards Ben, "I shall be going now I suppose, if nothing else then to just keep an eye on our resident portal chaser. If any of you would like, the training room is open to improve yourselves. Since I do not know how long we shall be away anymore, I would also like to ask you to keep monitoring whatever is happening in Bellwood, and with the 'Plumbers'. Unless of course you would like to come us well?"

"Nah, I think I'll pass this time." Ben shook his head, "Sandworm memories are still lingering."

"Ah, I see. I understand." Albedo nodded with a warm smile, "Then just keep an eye on things for me please."

"Got it boss." Rex said, mock saluting, a wide grin plastered onto his face.

"Do not call me that."

"Got it boss!" Ben added, a grin forming on his face as well as he made to leave before Albedo put a hand on his shoulder.

"Benjamin before both of us leave if you could spare a moment."

"Hm? Sure."

The alien leaned in close to whisper in the boy's ear, "Ms. Green is currently staying at the outpost your cousin is at." he declared silently as Ben immediately turned towards him, flustered, not liking where this was going, considering the alien had a cheeky smile, "I believe Gwendolyn should contact you sometime today for our usual chats, and in my absence I nominate you to be my replacement... As such, feel free to talk to the young lady." he added with a wink, pat Ben's shoulders twice and left in the direction of the noise, leaving a beet red Ben standing dumbfounded next to the sofas.

"You..." he muttered somewhat angrily under his breath. Though as Albedo rounded the corner and disappeared a small smile appeared on his face, "Look out for yourself a little bit more you idiot." he added silently as he turned to leave towards the training room with a small sigh.

_**Hallway B, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

There it was at the end of the lengthy corridor, as it usually appeared. The swirling mass of blue energy, connecting two worlds at their borders together, floating at the end of the hallway all the while completely blocking entrance into the kitchen. As it floated it also illuminated the walls in a gentle blue, completely betraying its prior actions and the worlds it once connected to. A completely strange phenomena that cut the border between separate worlds with the ease of a knife slicing through butter. A phenomena Albedo still could not completely understand, even when it was right in front of him. He let out a small sigh as a small smile forced its way onto his face.

Jeff on the other hand was practically jumping around the portal like a playful puppy, as if waiting for someone to come with him. He looked at it from every angle at least twice by the time Albedo arrived at the end of the hallway, which was the only moment when he truly stopped. To look at his would-be partner.

"Took ya long enough." he mock pouted.

"What made you think I would even come?" Albedo smiled teasingly.

"Oh come on, prime research opportunity! You never give that up." Jeff grinned knowingly.

"True." Albedo nodded in defeat. "I never seem to."

"Any clue on where it leads?"

"None whatsoever. I believe we best find that out ourselves by stepping through would you not say?" he shrugged, "Besides, I would say it certainly is more fun that way."

"Oh yeeeah~!" Jeff excitedly pumped his fists into the air, put on his bandana and pulled his hood over his head, "Let's go adventu- Is Hope not coming?" he asked suddenly, not breaking the flow of his sentence once, turning only his head around as both his left fist and right leg were still in the air, making the alien wonder how he did not lose balance.

"I would rather not like to bother her right now. According to Benjamin she is hard at work on a new kind of spell, and whilst I do not know much about spell craft and wizardry I can tell how cranky I would be when someone interrupts my work." he said with an unnervingly calm smile, causing Jeff to gulp and turn back towards the portal, feeling it be a hint towards himself.

"Y-yeah! Then we better just go." Jeff gulped again as he turned back towards the portal.

"Of course." Albedo nodded, "Lead the way friend."

"Right-o!"

_**Meanwhile, on the other side**_

_**Same Time**_

_**The TARDIS, Time Vortex**_

Three figures stood in calm silence in the middle of a large control room, two watching the third one fiddle with the controls. Three figures who just won a long-lasting war, three figures in complete and utter silence after parting ways with yet another comrade. Three horses... no, three _ponies_ were the only occupants of the relatively large space. The two observers, staying by the side, one lavender coated unicorn and one grey coated pegasus watched with worried gazes as the third, a chestnut coated stallion, calmly worked on the multitude of levers and switches on the hexagonal panels in front of him. In fact, the cause of their worry was that their friend was staying eerily calm.

"Are you okay, Doctor?" the unicorn with the lavender coat asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Of course, I'm fine!" the Doctor replied hastily, turning to see the other two looking at him with raised eyebrows, more than likely not believing his statement, "What do you want me to say? That I'm sad to say goodbye to her again?"

"As long as it's the truth." the pegasus replied with a sigh.

The stallion nodded in response, "Yeah... Even if the parting is on good terms, it never gets any easier." he smiled at the two mares, a sad but genuine smile, "Anyway, let's get back to Ponyville. We've got a lot of work to do."

Suddenly the entire TARDIS shook rather violently, knocking the two mares to the ground as the Doctor himself held onto the control panels for stability as the ship leaned at an angle. However, it soon corrected itself, thanks in part to the Doctor himself pressing a couple buttons, even so it still continued to shake. At the same time a rather strange noise began to emanate from one of the nearby corridors. Yet it was quiet, all things considered, and thus not easily audible, the shaking of the ship not really helping the matter either.

"Come on!" the unicorn groaned, "What's happening _now_?!"

The ship soon stopped shaking just as fast as it began surprisingly, allowing everyone to regain their footing, though slowly. The Doctor took several deep breaths soon after, "Don't worry. Everything's under-" he then stopped suddenly, looking at the other two for confirmation. Upon gaining confused looks, his equine ears started searching for the source of the sound.

"Doctor?" the unicorn asked.

"Do you two hear that?" the stallion asked in turn of the two as their ears also started searching for the source of whatever the Doctor might have been hearing.

It didn't take long after the Doctor had pointed it out for the two to notice the rather monotone almost buzzing sound emanating from one of the nearby corridors. The stallion took the initiative and began to explore, the other two following close behind on their own accord.

"Is the TARDIS making that noise?" the pegasus asked curiously.

"I don't believe so Derpy, no I do not." the Doctor shook his head in denial, "She just repaired herself, nothing should be making an extra noise... Which only means-"

"Someone's on the ship." the unicorn finished, before sighing in her tiredness, "Great."

"Exactly, Twilight." the Doctor nodded in concern, "Though I truly wonder who it could be. Especially considering we are still inside the Time Vortex."

He stopped soon after as soon as he heard speech from a side corridor once they were nearing the supposed source. With a raised right hoof he wordlessly told the other two to stop as they started to listen in on what seemed to be quite a heated conversation.

"Where the flying hell are we?!" a rather irritated voice snapped.

"You are the one who wanted adventure are you not?" a calmer voice spoke up, "This is it. Adventure." he added sarcastically.

"Don't you get sassy with me!" the first voice snapped back, "This is just a long-ass corridor. That goes two ways."

"It could also be a space ship." the three could practically feel the owner of the voice shrug, "You never know with these things Jeffrey."

"Ah, fuck it! Let's go explore!" 'Jeffrey' declared nonchalantly.

"If you keep that behavior up, one of these days you are going to get arrested." the second voice sighed, "Or die." the Doctor could feel the worry in his voice, even if he has not seen them yet.

"I can't die remember?" 'Jeffrey' replied with his own share of sass, though his response caused the three to raise their eyebrows in a mix of surprise and confusion, "Neither can you, so what's there to lose exactly?"

The second voice's owner sighed, much to the surprise of the trio "I suppose. Go on then. Have at it."

This little conversation was enough for the Doctor to take a peek around the corner, his curiosity was at its peak now. These two 'intruders' were talking so indifferently about death, when to the three of them it was a pretty serious matter they have had plenty a part of just recently. The Doctor felt somewhat furious, but at the same time curious, he was at an impasse in his thoughts. All the while, the owners of the two voices seemed way to nonchalant for thieves or the like, so he concluded that however they got on the ship had to be an accident, however he could also feel the difference in the two's personality emanating from their conversation, which was yet another sign of incoordination. Plus, next to all of that, that one line was on repeat in his head for some reason, '_I can't die remember?_'. Even so with all these worries as soon as he looked around the corner his eyes went wide. They were _humans_, abnormal though they looked, they were humans. The calmer one had snow white hair and piercing crimson red eyes, dressed in similar colored clothes. A red jacket, black jeans and black and white sneakers... However, the other one, to the Doctor seemed to be lacking color. Black hair, pale white skin, a snow-white hoodie, black jeans, as if the printer had run out of colored ink. He could also make out a bandana adorning his face, even with his hood raised up. The two appeared to be the strangest duo the Gallifreyan Time Lord has seen in quite a while, even thinking of his recent endeavors.

"Oi!" the irritated voice of the black haired man snapped towards his direction, greatly surprising him and sending a chill running down his spine, "Ya plan on staring at us the whole time or are you gonna come and say something? Eh?"

"Come now, Jeffrey, would it hurt you to be nice to people?" the white-haired man chided his companion with a gentle smile.

'_They noticed me?! How?!_' the Doctor snapped in his thoughts, they were a good couple meters away, as the corridor was one of the inexplicably longer ones and he was also practically hidden. '_How?_' he repeated in his thoughts.

"Though, yes I do believe it is rude to stare at people." the white haired man said with a playful tone, turning towards him reinforcing his fears, "How about all three of you introduce yourself so we can get go-" he suddenly stopped, confusing the Doctor even further, "Oh, where are my manners? We are the intruders here! Apologies for that. My name is Albedo." he said. "You must excuse me, it is just that old habits die hard you know?"

"I'm Jeff, if it wasn't already obvious." Jeff added surprisingly calmly with a wide armed shrug.

The Doctor took a deep breath and stepped out from his hiding place, the two mares behind him still somewhat shaken that the white-haired man, Albedo, knew from the start that they were there. As he did however, both their 'visitors'' eyes went wide before looking at him intently. This somehow made the Doctor uncomfortable.

"Hello there!" he cheerily said, masking his own doubts about the situation, "I'm the Doctor. Might I ask what you two are doing on my ship?"

"See? I told you it could be a ship!" Albedo elbowed Jeff whilst chuckling, only to realize that his companion was frozen. "Jeffrey?"

The pale white skinned man stood dumbfounded next to Albedo, his blue eyes locking onto the Doctor. No matter what Albedo had tried to do he would not move or react, he just kept looking at the Doctor. Granted this was under the span of a couple minutes only, the Doctor himself was beginning to grow worried, despite the situation they were in.

"Is... Is your friend okay?"

"You know, Doctor, I would like to know that as well." the one called Albedo admitted, whilst rubbing his head awkwardly, "This is a first for me as well."

"Shut up." Jeff grumbled, almost inaudibly.

"Pardon?" Albedo asked.

"I said, shut up!" Jeff snapped at him, "Do you know who that is?!"

"No, but I suppose you do?" Albedo answered honestly, his eyebrows raised high as he passed a glance at the horse... no rather _pony_ in front of them for a second.

"Of course I do!" Jeff seemed to be grinning behind his bandana, this time decorated with the lower jaw of a skull on it, "That right there is _The _Doctor!"

"Yes, I do believe he already introduced himself?" Albedo continued on, obliviously to whatever Jeff was trying to get at. The scene alone confused the Doctor himself even more than before.

'_One of them seems to know me, whilst the other has never even heard of me? What's going on here?_'

"No you idiot." Jeff shook his head calmly, "I told you about him."

"Hmm?" Albedo seemed to ponder for a couple seconds before raising an index finger high, "Ah, yes! That television series!"

"Television series?" the Doctor's eyebrows rose, "You know of me through fiction as well?" his interests seemed to be growing.

"Oh, right. Forgot this isn't normal for peo- 'as well'?" Jeff asked, doing a double take, once again not breaking the flow of his sentence.

"Long story." the Doctor sighed, "No really, it would be quite lengthy."

"Considering who you are, I bet it is." Jeff nodded, "Then again we have all the time in the world with you, don't we?"

"I suppose." the Doctor mused, "That _is_ an accurate statement."

"Now hold on, what are you two talking about?" Albedo asked in intrigue.

"The ship, dude." Jeff replied, "It's a time machine!"

"Amongst other things." the Doctor sighed, somewhat disheartened that one of his favorite questions would probably not be asked this time around.

"Oh! Now that is certainly intriguing!" Albedo seemed elated, much to the Doctor's further confusion.

'_Not quite the reaction I normally expected, but I'll take it._' he inwardly shrugged.

"So then I would assume the ship has a name?"

"Oh yes." the Doctor nodded somewhat enthusiastically, "Her name is the TARDIS."

"And I suppose that name is an acronym?"

"...Y-yes, it is." the Doctor slowly nodded.

"I suppose it would be something akin to... 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'?"

"How did y-" the Doctor was about to ask before Albedo continued.

"Just a lucky guess." Albedo shrugged, "Before you ask, no Jeffery only told me about the premise of the show, not the crucial details."

'_You totally read his mind._' Jeff thought.

'_Of course, but he does not need to know that._' Albedo chuckled in his thoughts.

"Now then, where were we?"

"Introductions, I suppose." the Doctor shrugged after a brief sigh, "Though after all this display I do not really know."

"You've become quite chatty, considering you have been spying on us a couple minutes ago." Jeff chipped in.

"I apologize for that, truly, but would you not have done the same had someone suddenly shown up in your home?"

"Of course I would have." Albedo nodded, "And I do not blame you for it."

"After all, let's be honest, if you wanted to hurt me you would have done so already." the Doctor shrugged, though mentally he was still wary of the both of them, for obvious reasons.

"Fair point." Jeff nodded again, "Sooo~. Is the whole 'you being a pony' thing a long story as well? Because then I don't care." he put a finger to his chin musingly, "Wait, are you before or after 'I don't wanna go.'?"

"Af...ter?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow, if he had to say he was quite freaked out by now.

"Ah, then some sort of dimensional mishap perhaps?" Albedo asked, "Is that what you are getting at?"

"Yeah, you see, the Doctor over there is also an alien like you, and whenever they get fatally damaged or similar their body will regenerate itself, but that eventually results in a new face and messy memories."

"Ah, yes, yes! I remember now. Albeit, you telling it to me at four in the morning on a candy world certainly had its... 'charm' to make me remember it. Even so, how intriguing! Considering you know of him; I assume the TV show is with people. Thus, this 'regeneration' of him could have resulted in the form we see now, is what you're saying, correct?"

"It's a theory at least if nothing else."

"Quite the correct one." the Doctor admitted, decently amazed. "That is more or less what happened." he let out a sigh, "This is a rather... weird conversation. You two appear to know about me from the start of it, yet I know next to nothing about you... Admittedly, not the first time that has happened recently. Says a lot about my life."

"A lot of weird things are happening nowadays Doctor." Albedo sighed, "As it seems, it is also not just back home."

"Back _home_?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm, seeing as how you are a time traveler, exactly how much of a surprise would it be right now if I told you we are from a different world?" Albedo asked, putting a finger to his chin.

"If you have met me a year ago, I would have called you crazy... But after everything that has happened recently around here? Honestly, I'd say I'm quite likely to believe anything."

"That bad huh?" Jeff sighed. "Though, I guess you never really had it easy."

"I'll give you that." the Doctor let out a lengthy sigh.

"Now then, how about we move this conversation to somewhere we can speak face to face?" Albedo chipped in, "It is rather uncomfortable knowing two others are listening without me being able to see them."

"I concur." the Doctor nodded, he was ready to go back to Ponyville and help as soon as possible... but this? This was something quite unprecedented.

_**Control Room, The TARDIS, Time Vortex**_

_**The Doctor**_

Three ponies and two humans sat around a makeshift table on one corner of the room. On one side, the Doctor and his two current companions, Twilight and Derpy looking at their new arrivals with intrigue, whilst on the other end Albedo was calmly locking eyes with the Doctor... Jeff's mind on the other hand seemed to be wandering.

"So, mind if _I_ start with a question?" Twilight asked suddenly, after a brief moment of silence.

"Oh no, be my guest." Albedo smiled, urging the unicorn on.

"What's with the mask?"

"Huh?" Jeff asked, being brought back. "Oh, this little thing? Well, it's a sorta... precaution y'know?"

"Precaution for what, exactly?" Derpy asked.

Jeff briefly glanced at Albedo, who just gave a small approving nod, causing him to shrug but nevertheless reach for his bandana and hood simultaneously, pulling them down and back respectively, "For this." he chuckled once all three of them looked shocked on the sight of him, "Smile!"

"That's..." Twilight started, trembling.

"Hey, don't just start shaking on the sight of me." Jeff mocked being offended, "That's really rude."

"We just..."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, before grinning himself, reinforcing the permanent smile on his face, "Hm, lemme guess, you met me already? And perhaps he tried to kill you once or twice?" everyone suddenly got silent and stopped trembling, "Right on the money."

"Hmm, interesting." Albedo finally spoke up again.

"What is?" Twilight asked, the Doctor seemingly processing the newfound information.

"That you have managed to run into an alternate version of Jeffrey."

"Alternate... _version_?" Derpy repeated.

"That can't... No, I suppose that does make sense." the Doctor nodded.

"It does?"

"Remember way back when we ran into that murderous version of Ms. Dash?" the Doctor asked, the other two nodding in response, "That was also another dimension, no? From what Clockwork and the others have told us, this 'Jeff' character they have ran into seemed, rather unhinged to say the least... Compared to that howeve-"

"I'm right as rain!" Jeff chuckled, "Yeah, you could say that. According to this guy," he started, pointing at Albedo, "I seem to be one of the few versions of me out there that are relatively normal."

"Emphasis on relatively." Albedo said under his breath.

"Hey!" Jeff elbowed him in response.

The Doctor sighed, "Alright, I have reason enough to believe you on that... But, I believe I can ask you some questions as well?"

"Sure, shoot."

"How exactly did you two end up here?"

"Ah right, I suppose you have not seen it by the time you have found us." Albedo pondered, "You see, where we come from... we are in a bit of a, how do you say it, pickle."

"Pickle how?" Twilight asked.

"Well, back in his world a random ass dimensional portal opened up around four months ago and left him in an alternate world... Problem is, it didn't really stop." Jeff explained, "I'm from a different world as well, compared to his that is. Along with a few others, though I left mine by choice, unlike some of our friends." he pondered for a couple seconds, "There was _also_ that world with George Washington and a dinosaur."

"I'm sorry, what?" the Doctor went wide eyed.

"Who's George Washington?" Twilight asked, only for the Doctor to hush her for now with a silent 'Later', followed by a forced cough.

"So you mean to tell me that a dimensional anomaly has been appearing in your world... for the past four months?"

"Yes, that seems to be rather accurate." Albedo nodded.

"What have you done to it so far?"

"Study and research mainly." Albedo pondered, "Of course, I was forced to enter more than a handful of times, not all of those a friendly visit mind you, but nonetheless I still have no idea for a possible cause."

"And if he doesn't really most people won't." Jeff chipped in with a shrug.

"Why, is he some sort of great mind or something?" Derpy asked, causing Jeff to look at her wide eyed for a couple seconds before facepalming.

"Oh right! So, in a nutshell, this guy belongs to the smartest race in the galaxy. Of his world I mean."

"He what?!" Twilight snapped, as the Doctor himself raised an eyebrow at the bold claim.

"There _is_ one other race that is on par, but my dear people refuse to accept it as the truth. But yes, that is quite true." Albedo admitted, "Though, I really do not like using that as an argument, bragging is one thing but that claim is ludicrous under normal circumstances."

"Understatement of the century dude." Jeff added under his breath.

"Alright, putting all the bold claims aside, you say you have not found any reason why it could have started?" the Doctor asked again for confirmation, "Interesting. Or potentially terrifying, considering you ended up on the TARDIS whilst we were still inside the Time Vortex."

"Inside the flow of time?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, "So that is why I feel so off."

"Off how?" Jeff asked.

"I do not know how to explain it. It feels unusual in the strangest sense." he coughed briefly before turning back towards the Doctor, "By the look you are giving me you have more questions?"

"Isn't it your turn now?" Twilight asked.

"Thank you Miss, but I really don't have any... Hmm, perchance besides your names, maybe?"

"Oh right!" Twilight chuckled nervously, "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Derpy Hooves." the grey coated pegasus added, Albedo raised an eyebrow but did not comment further.

"This is the strangest combination ever." Jeff suddenly blurted out.

"Pardon?" Albedo raised an eyebrow, "You do not mean to tell me you know of them through some form of media as well do you?"

"Oh but I do!" Jeff grinned, "Liu loved that show!" he declared proudly, "I didn't really care much at first but he got me to watch it with him. It was our way of escaping everything for the brief moments it was airing." a small tear drop fled from his eyes, "He liked it so, so much."

Albedo smiled gently, putting a hand on Jeff's back to help him calm down, "So, I guess you are excited about this meeting then?"

"Oh boy, am I?" Jeff nodded, "It's one of those what if situations... until it actually happens to you."

"I take it this Liu is your brother?" the Doctor asked slowly, somewhat feeling he was threading on dangerous territory.

"Yeah, I won't bore you with all the details, but he's not around anymore. He's not dead or anything, we just got... separated. I thought it was for the better all this time, but a certain someone back home convinced me to seek him out whenever I get the chance again... Back on topic however, it was his favorite show. He always seemed so happy when he was talking about it, what I would give to have him here too now."

"I... see." the Doctor nodded solemnly.

"Sorry," he quickly added wiping some tears from his eyes, "I brought the mood down quite a bit." he raised an eyebrow once he looked at Twilight again however, "Though I guess your world will never turn out like the show would anyhow."

"W-what do you mean?" Twilight was hesitant to ask.

"Are you quite certain you should be telling her what you want to?" Albedo asked before the Doctor could.

"I think it's fine, it's not _her_ future anymore."

"Go on then."

"It's nothing serious in that sense, but I think it's safe to say that dear old Twiley here will not have the same destiny... Seeing how you lack the wings and all."

"Wings? Why would I have-" however she suddenly quieted.

"Yup." Jeff nodded, finding the situation somewhat strange subconsciously, "After your bro's wedding, a couple months or so that is, you were supposed to become a princess. Amongst other things, a lot of terrible things would have also followed. But I guess since the Doctor got here, the course of this world shifted and you got stuck with a bunch of other problems."

"So this world, much like our own, seems to have changed its predetermined course due to some specific factor. Although, no, the Doctor seems to be the factor here." Albedo mused.

"Me? A Princess?" Twilight muttered to herself, as a shocked Derpy tried to comfort her and herself.

"You mean, I am the cause for all that has happened to us?" the Doctor asked, his eyes wide in horror.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jeff suddenly shouted, "Don't go blaming yourself all of the sudden! It was an accident. None of you knew it would happen."

"Precisely." Albedo nodded, "And if our world is anything to go by, the original course of events is currently running in a parallel world."

"Parallel world?" the Doctor asked, "But those should be-"

"Impossible?" Albedo asked knowingly, "Perhaps to you they might be, but back home they are more than real. A multitude of world lines, branching off from each other because of small or large, meaningless or quite meaningful choices, all running their course simultaneously. Ours on the other hand, as well as the one you three are from, shifted significantly from their original courses thus creating the events you now know as your past. It does not matter what your other self is doing currently, what matters is that you hold on to what you have right now and do what _you_ can. No?" he asked with a shrug, "I mean, my original self apparently is still a petty criminal obsessed with revenge, whilst here I am, immortal and saving the world."

"That's a lot of information all of the sudden." Derpy held her head in confusion as her eyes inverted slightly.

"Haha, I am truly sorry, I tend to ramble when I get the chance." he chuckled, "Doctor, please do not let what I just said discourage you from anything. For all you know, us ending up on the TARDIS just now could have also made us branch off from what you were supposed to do here. Nothing is ever set in stone. It is truly up to us what we make of it."

"Damn dude, where's all this motivational speech coming from?" Jeff asked with widened eyes.

"I felt I had to do something, since all of the sudden they started looking even more depressed than before."

"I get you."

The Doctor let out a lengthy sigh, "Phew, this day could not get any weirder."

"Tell me about it dude." Jeff nodded.

"Mind if _I_ ask you a question then?" Albedo asked.

"No, of course not."

"How _did_ you end up in their world, what was it called?"

"Gaia." Jeff, Twilight and Derpy blurted out in strange unison causing them to look at each other in confusion then chuckle a little.

"Gaia, yes."

"As your friend has said I was in the middle of my regeneration. I can only guess that all the energy I was letting off messed with the TARDIS' systems and she somehow broke through the dimensional barriers, then I blanked out. Next thing I know, I have hooves and a Dalek is rampaging in Ponyville."

"Sheesh, that must've been a terrible morning." Jeff cringed, "How did the old trashcan end up over there anyhow?"

"Wish I knew." the Doctor admitted, causing Jeff and Albedo to share worried glances with each other, "What is it?"

"You don't suppose..?" Jeff asked, as the Doctor seemed to realize what they might have been getting at.

"That a portal of ours opened up and somehow connected both the TARDIS and this... 'Dalek' to our four-legged friends' world? I sadly do." Albedo sighed, "I have no proof of it, and probably never will, but this all sounds like what it usually does."

"Is it capable of that?" the Doctor asked, eyes wide in shock and awe.

"I am afraid it is capable of much more things that we still do not know of." Albedo admitted with a sigh, "Much more... _destructive_ things."

Twilight and Derpy collectively gulped at the revelation whilst the Doctor fell silent. Upon realizing this, Albedo clapped his hands together garnering attention.

"Alright then, how about we move onto some more pleasant topics for now?"

The Doctor let out a lengthy sigh before he spoke up, "Fine then, but don't consider this topic dropped altogether."

"Of course." Albedo nodded with a small smile, expecting as such.

"Now then, you said you were from an alien race back in your world, correct?"

"Indeed." he nodded once more.

"Is your species similar to a human as well or-"

"Oh no, no. Far from it." the white haired boy shook his head in denial, "This is a rather strange side effect to a series of unfortunate events. Technically I am a human now though."

"I... see." the Doctor said, though he seemed confused.

"W-what about the whole 'immortal' part?" Derpy managed to ask, albeit hesitantly.

"Oh, well yes, that _is_ true. I do not suppose you want me to demonstrate."

"Demonstrate?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Oh, to put it simply, I am the sort of immortal that can come back after dying." Albedo explained, "I do have some regenerative powers, but I can still perish. Nevertheless, without any interaction on my part I always revive after three days."

"Fascinating!" the Doctor admitted, "I have known an immortal man once, but he was quite different from what you have just described."

"Hmm, how interesting." Albedo smiled.

"You what?!" Twilight snapped towards the Doctor.

"That's kind of a crucial detail you forgot to mention there Doc." Jeff chipped in supporting the unicorn's outburst, guessing the reason behind it.

"The situation never really arose where I could just freely talk about it." the Doctor shrugged, "But I do apologize." he furrowed his brows soon after, "Hold on, you said without interaction on your part correct?"

"Indeed." Albedo nodded.

"But how could you..?"

"Well, my mind is still conscious through all of it." the white haired alien explained, "So technically I never truly die, but even if it _is_ conscious I can barely do anything so it is as good as dying. Plus, I have a bit of a companion of sorts."

"Companion?"

"Brace yourselves." Jeff instructed with a smile as Albedo's eyes turned pitch black, eliciting a surprised reaction from the other three, less so from the Doctor though.

"_Greetings!_" a cheery, yet ethereal and deep voice rang out from Albedo's mouth, even if his eyes seemingly showed no emotion.

"Woah!" Derpy yelped in surprise, "W-what is that?"

"_Me? I have no knowledge if your world has any version of me, but the Doctor might know._" he said, "_I am what the humans back home call the Grim Reaper._"

"Grim..."

"Reaper?" Twilight and Derpy asked respectively, finishing the question together. The Doctor however almost let his jaw drop.

"Are you telling me that whatever world you come from, mythological figures also exist?"

"_I shall take that as a yes._" the Grim Reaper chuckled, "_Well, cryptids and the like existed for a long while, so did me and my brethren, the Horsemen. However, I do not know much about other mythological beings. Other than Charon of course._"

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" the Doctor asked.

"_Yes. However, we really had no reason to start any apocalypse._" the entity shrugged with a small chuckle, "_All things considered._"

"Apocalypse?" Twilight whispered in confusion as Jeff sat down next to her.

"I'll tell you later. It's a bit of a doozie." he chuckled silently, as to not interrupt the two elderly aliens' talk. He however felt that the unicorn was still quite vary of her. "Look, I dunno what kind of me your friend ran into, really, and I really can't promise I'm any different, but if it counts for anything, I _am_ constantly trying to change... Ever since that guy showed up in my life, I felt happier and happier. I dunno what it is about him, he just helps you feel at ease... I don't have nearly any of the same feelings I had when I left my world." he let out a small laugh, "Plus, if I did anything to you Liu would kill me."

"You must really love your brother." Twilight said with a small smile, somewhat letting her guard down, at the same time memories of her own brother popping into her mind.

"More than anything." Jeff nodded, "This is more than likely a very selfish request but..."

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, "Go on, I'll listen."

"If we ever get the chance... Could you meet him? Even if it's for a short time."

The unicorn was dumbfounded, but after a couple seconds she smiled warmly again, "Of course, it would be my pleasure."

"Thank you. Really." Jeff smiled, enforced by his face.

Meanwhile, the Horseman, Galvan and the Time Lord were quite lost in their own conversation, as the entity shared a lot of historical information with the Doctor, finding that whilst most of it matched up, there were quite a few differences. Like the fact that George Washington met and fought someone called Vilgax, who the Doctor came to know was an intergalactic warlord whose name alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone, and subsequently founded an organization protecting, at the time, Earth from alien threats. An organization named 'the Plumbers'.

"Plumbers..?" the Doctor felt the need to repeat the name to get confirmation.

"Indeed, I believe it was Benjamin's grandfather who came up with the saying: 'To clean up the filth of the universe.' or something along those lines."

"My, your world is quite interesting."

"You are one to speak." Albedo chuckled, "These 'Daleks' sound a lot more terrifying now that I know what they are capable of. Haha, it seems our worlds are not too different."

"Perhaps." the Doctor chuckled as he nodded.

"What about Jeff?" Twilight sighed before asking, "You know, the whole immortality thing? Where we left off? You two said he too was..."

"Ah no, I just can't die no matter what happens." Jeff shrugged with a dismissive wave of his hands, "I mean I was eaten alive by a giant worm once." the girls collectively shuddered along with Albedo, much to the Doctor's surprise "I climbed out though."

"O-oh."

"What about you, any special powers I should be keeping track of?" Albedo asked, intrigue resonating in his eyes.

"Unicorns can use magic since birth." Twilight explained, showing off a small spell, "Not much else that's special that I can think of though."

"I see, so magic is a thing in your world as well."

"As well?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"One of our friends is a sorceress." Jeff clarified. "In his world it exists, mine didn't have any." he added, "Just a buncha supernatural stuff no one believed but were apparently true."

"Supernatural?" the Gallifreyan asked.

"Are you familiar with Slenderman?" Jeff asked, "Does the legend exist in your world too Doc?"

"I believe I have heard the name in passing before. Tall creature, faceless, in a suit?"

"That's the one." Jeff nodded, "Well, you see in my world apparently he was real. And now he's back home."

"Just how many worlds have you visited before?" the Time Lord couldn't help but ask.

"Too many to count at this point." Albedo shrugged then turned towards Derpy, expecting her to continue.

"Well, I can fly, which was probably obvious." Derpy shrugged, pointing at her wings.

"Quite. How about you Doctor? I suppose an alien like yourself could have a couple tricks up his sleeve?" Albedo continued his questions. "What with all your involvement in human history?"

"Not much else to say really." the stallion shrugged, "I have two hearts... And a Sonic Screwdriver."

"A Sonic whatnow?"

"Screwdriver." Jeff repeated, "Though it really is as close to a screwdriver as I am to Elvis Presley."

"It opens stuff." Derpy added.

"Amongst other things." the Doctor nodded, before eyeing Albedo again, "I apologize for my suspicions, but perhaps you still did not tell me everything?" he asked, "Mr. 'Smartest being in your universe'?"

"I really do not hold that title my friend. That belongs to someone else." Albedo explained, "However, the universe's greatest weapon _is_ one of our inventions though."

'_A weapon? Why is it alwa-_' the Doctor thought, remembering some unpleasant memories from just a day ago, but his thoughts were rapidly interrupted.

"Though I say it is a weapon, it is more a complex use device."

"Excuse me?"

"It is called the 'Omnitrix'." Albedo declared, "It is a device in the shape of a simple watch, capable of transforming its wielder into any form desired. Any _alien_ form that is."

"You created something like that?"

"Of course not! I was merely a part of the project." the alien smiled, "It now is in the most capable hands one could hope for. I mentioned Benjamin did I not?"

"This device is in the hands of a child?" the Doctor questioned.

"Anyone who hears it reacts like that at first, believe me. That is of course until they meet him. I would trust Benjamin with my life if I needed to. The boy's got talent. I was just too blind to see it for the longest time."

"I'll take your word for it." the Doctor nodded, "Perhaps we will meet sometime."

"Maybe so." Albedo nodded before continuing his little anecdote, "However you could guess that there are a multitude of different beings out there who would use it as a weapon." he chuckled, "Conveniently, my friend uses it to beat up criminals."

"I see, though why exactly would you tell us about this device?"

"Well, I thought it would serve as an introduction to my last major 'power' that you have asked about."

"Which is?"

"Through an unforeseen accident about a year or so ago, I have gained the ability to..." in a small flash of red light the boy before the Doctor disappeared much to everyone but Jeff's surprise, "...transform myself." a new voice said as a small creature jumped up onto the table.

"Woah, what is that?" Twilight asked, though she was more intrigued than surprised.

"This, is a Galvan. Also, my original species."

"You are so small!" Derpy commented.

"Yes, I suppose their size is a detriment in any other situation, but nonetheless Galvans are famous for their brains not their brawn."

"But wait, if these transformations were originally intended to be used with a device, won't that be a problem for you?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, nice catch." Albedo smiled as he turned back, "Of course, I can stay transformed as long as I like, but it is all according to my willpower and concentration, so after a while I would get a headache and worse down the line."

"Nothing is ever without its drawbacks." the Doctor commented.

"Ain't that the truth." Jeff nodded in agreement.

"Nonetheless, I believe this is every-" his Galvan eyes turned completely black which was quite a sight to behold, "_Not quite._" his eyes turned back soon after those two words. "Oh... Right, I can never get used to that."

"Get used to what?" Derpy asked.

Albedo got back on the makeshift chair and turned back to human form with ease, "The fact that my last power is anything but normal. Or that I even have it."

"Come on now. Don't keep up the suspense." the Doctor urged.

"So I said I can die right?" everyone nodded in response, "Well, it appears that who- or whatever ends me... I copy some characteristics from when I revive, although it seems it is not absolute."

"Huh?" the Doctor's eyes widened, "How can that be possible?"

"I wish I knew, honestly." Albedo admitted, "We discovered it by accident but ever since then it became more and more prominent whenever it happened." he emphasized his point by suddenly appearing behind the time traveling stallion much to his shock. "This is the teleportation ability of Slenderman. Do not ask how that happened please."

"So in theory you can get infinitely more powerful?" Twilight asked.

"Oh my, I have not thought about it that way." Albedo gasped, "That is a _terrifying_ thought... What exactly has my life become."

"I believe we can all keep asking that question day and day again." the Doctor responded with a shrug. "Now, I don't suppose you two currently have a way home, correct?"

"I suppose not. We are at the mercy of the portal." Albedo responded as he got up from the chair.

"Why don't you come with us then?" the Time Lord asked, "I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but we could really use some help back home."

"Oh of course! I am happy to be of assistance."

"Sure."

"Though I feel like I should warn you, we have just been through a rough patch... Things are not too pretty back home."

The Doctor after this proceeded to tell the other two about what exactly was happening in their world the past couple of days. His evil self taking control with an army, destroying everything and everyone in sight almost gaining control and throwing the world in chaos, but eventually failing due to the interference of him and his companions, some of who they have lost along the way.

"I myself am no stranger to loss." Albedo admitted, "You have my most sincere condolences... But I take it things turned out fine in the end?"

"Somehow." the Doctor nodded, "Somehow."

"Nevermind that! Let's go! You said we needed to fix stuff, so let's get on it!" Jeff chipped in, way too enthusiastically.

"Oh before we go, let me just do one more thing." Albedo added as he pulled out a small cylindrical device from one of his pockets, held it towards the Doctor for a couple seconds, then towards him and Jeff, pressed the button on the end of it... and the two almost instantaneously turned into their own equine forms.

"W-what?" Twilight seemed quite surprised, Derpy following her reaction only in silence.

Albedo's coat was light gray, his eyes and hair much the same as his normal form. He still had his jacket on but now he appeared to have wings... However, they were a lot more similar to that of a bat's than a bird's. Jeff on the other hand had a pale white coat, his hair and eyes also the same, a hoodie covering most of his body... that and a horn protruded from his forehead. None of them had a Cutie Mark however.

"This feels weird." Jeff suddenly said, catching a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a nearby wall panel, "At least the smile's still there."

"Well it is still an experimental device Jeffrey, there _are_ some kinks I shall have to work out, but for the most part it seems to have worked... So much for not standing out though. I am going to go out on a wild guess here and say bat wings are not a normal feature of pegasi in your world."

"Y-yeah." Twilight nodded.

"Figures."

"Impressive technology!" the Doctor admitted, "Did you make it yourself?"

"Technically yes."

"Technically?"

"His other self came up with the idea, he just built it after her blueprints."

"_Her_?"

"Ah yes, about a week ago we had a run in with a version of our world where everybody had the opposite gender." Albedo shrugged, "Not the most normal sentence I have ever said but I shall take it." he clapped his forelegs together, "Now, we were about to depart?"

The Doctor, Twilight and Derpy couldn't even question any further, this day was just getting weirder and weirder now that the two of them were here, especially for the Doctor. Nonetheless he flipped some switches and levers on the control panel and the TARDIS sprang to life again as they once again moved forward in time.

_**Survivor Camp, Outside Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**Albedo**_

The time machine and spaceship known as the TARDIS appeared adjacent to a larger tent in the middle of a rather large camp. Surprisingly, no one yet reacted to what Albedo thought was a signature noise the ship made. Still as soon as he and his newfound friends stepped out from it, he was greeted by a devastating sight. Ponies, and to his surprise, some humans all lying outside and supposedly inside tents, with various injuries all of them looking as depressed as they come.

'_A war, huh..?_' he thought. As one who was never a part of any wars, seeing its effects in front of his eyes caused him great discomfort. "This... is quite depressing."

"Woo boy." Jeff's response was simple, but his face, covered by his bandana and hood, even with his snout, conveyed his own sense of discomfort.

"Indeed." the Doctor nodded as he stepped out from behind them, "This is what remains."

"The one who did all this, your other self... Is he-"

"He's gone." the Doctor quickly answered, "Due to the sacrifice of one of our friends... He's gone now."

"I see." Albedo solemnly nodded.

"How about we go meet the others?" Jeff asked, "All this snow and blood is making me depressed."

"Right, let's go." Twilight nodded.

The little group of five moved through the tents in the camp before eventually arriving at a moderate sized one. The tent did not stand out whatsoever but according to Twilight this was where her friends were recuperating. As they opened the entrance to the tent, the somewhat cheery voices of its occupants could be heard. A pink pony with a really puffy mane, some balloons decorating her flank, a pegasus with a blue coat and hair in every color of the rainbow, a white coated unicorn on a stretcher, a leg in a cast, a pale yellow coated pegasus with one wing in a cast and another orange pony with bandages all over her torso... and a blonde human. As if that wasn't surprising enough next to one of the pegasi was a small purple dragon, Albedo presumed.

"Hey everypony... We're back." Twilight announced their presence.

'_Every_pony?' Albedo thought, 'Alright then.'

"Twilight!" the blue coated pegasus immediately reacted to her friend's voice and rushed over to them with insane speed, giving her a small hug, "You really came back fast."

"Hey! I promised." the Doctor pouted.

"Last time you promised, didn't exactly turn out great did it?" the pegasus raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, point taken."

However, then her eyes fell upon him and Jeff, which soon after narrowed. "And who are these two exactly?"

"That is... a rather long story Miss..?" Albedo started.

"It's Rainbow Dash." she responded, much to Albedo's relief.

"Ah, Ms. Dash, you see that is a rather lengthy story to tell. Perhaps the Doctor could enlighten you?"

"Oi, don't push this on me!"

"Well as opposed to a complete stranger like me, they seem to trust you greatly." Albedo shrugged.

"He's got a point Doctor." Twilight nodded.

"Alright, alright!" the Doctor sighed, "These two are from a different world who somehow ended up on the TARDIS."

"That's it?" Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh I dunno, something that gives them more details."

"Stop arguing you two." Albedo sighed.

"Just what we needed... More dimensional problems." Rainbow Dash let out a lengthy sigh, "As if we didn't have enough already." that statement caused Albedo to chuckle, "Something funny?"

"Oh well, it is just that I did not think I would hear that from someone in a different world, it feels strangely calming."

"Huh?"

"Long story Dash." Jeff shrugged. "Maybe later."

"Now, do any of you know how far the damage has spread?" Albedo asked, immediately starting to assess the situation.

"I'm pretty sure it's all across Equestria by now." Derpy sighed.

"I see... So it is quite widespread from my understanding." Albedo nodded, "Now I do not suppose there is someone among you who has been all around Equestria?"

"Rarity has." Twilight answered looking at the white coated unicorn, surprising her friends greatly, "She has a fashion business of sorts, she has been to most places around here."

"Perfect!" Albedo smiled, clapping his forehooves together, "Now, I hope you do not mind if I-" however as he was about to take a couple steps closer to the unicorn on the stretcher, Rainbow suddenly got up in his face.

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" she asked, her expression serious.

"Why, help with the reconstruction of course." Albedo explained much to the shock of everyone but Jeff, "I figure it would be faster to do it all at once, no?"

"Can you do that?" the Doctor asked, gaining but disregarding a glare from the blue coated pegasus, but then his eyes went wide, immediately recalling the memory of Albedo suddenly appearing behind him.

"As long as I have a clear picture of the affected cities and locations, it should be possible yes."

"Let him go Ms. Dash." the Doctor instructed.

"But-"

"Just do it."

"F-fine." she reluctantly stood down upon seeing the look the Doctor was giving her.

"Now, I assure you this will not hurt a bit." Albedo declared as he walked over to the unicorn named Rarity, placing a hoof on the side of her head.

"It better not." Rarity said, though she closed her eyes. "Whatever it is you are doing."

Albedo closed his eyes for a couple seconds then released the unicorn's head, "Alright, that should be all of them."

"What?" the pink pony asked, "That's it?"

"That _is_ it." Albedo nodded reassuringly.

"What _is_ it exactly?" Twilight asked for confirmation.

"I read her mind, looking back onto the memories of the places where I should more than likely go." Albedo explained, "It is a neat trick I picked up a little while ago."

"But what is your plan?" the Doctor asked, his curiosity at its peak. To him Albedo seemed so confident that it was making his head spin.

"I advise those of you that can move to step out of this tent, I think what you are about to see will be quite the spectacle."

Somewhat reluctantly thought, but all of them safe for Rarity followed the confident pegasus outside the tent, the large gathering of creatures somewhat attracting attention. Albedo however was grinning all the while.

"Now if you would step back a little." Albedo asked, his grin never fading. Rainbow however was beginning to get annoyed.

"C'mon, just do it already if you're so sure of-" however her words got stuck in her throat. What she was seeing completely breaking her common sense.

Albedo assumed a runner's stance and in a matter of seconds was enveloped in a brief flash of red light. Soon after the light had died down, in the place of the rather cocky pegasus stood a bipedal creature, to the Doctor resembling a velociraptor, with small balls on his feet. The creature was a good deal taller than any of them, its body slim with a pale blue and black striped tail. His head was shaped like a helmet with a visor currently sliding up from his face, his pale blue arms ended in claws and his elbows bore spikes. His chest was a crimson red and in the middle of it was a circular protrusion, a red hourglass symbol in the middle of it. It was a Kineceleran, a form Benjamin often referred to as XLR8. He looked back at the others behind him with a grin.

"Now before all of you freak out, I shall continue and get on my way." he said rapidly.

His claws closed and he lowered his head a bit. His body was changing again. His feet morphed, now bearing large wheel like constructs extending towards the outside of the feet instead of the balls they had before. His body remained slim, but gained more musculature, mostly around the legs. His arms became a little longer, ending in claws made of four individual parts instead of the three from before, also a second smaller pair of spikes protruded from under the ones on the elbow. His tail seemed as flexible as ever however the end of it appeared almost mechanical, a small opening on it revealing it to be similar to an exhaust of sorts. His face changed the least but the change was still visible. The mask that comprised his head now covered his mouth as well, leaving the visor to only cover the eyes. Upon further look, his back had a long protrusion running down it resembling a spike, but a closer glance would reveal it to be a foldable dorsal fin of sorts. The outside of his thighs, arms and lower legs also seemed covered in some sort of red armor in small stripes. The hourglass symbol now had four spikes in an 'x' formation merging with his skin. His transformation had finished. An evolved Kineceleran, one neither Ben nor Albedo had used before.

"Ooooh!" Jeff was ecstatic, "You evolved XLR8!"

"Indeed." Albedo once again said rapidly, "It feels exhilarating."

"Oh I think I know what you are planning on doing now." Jeff grinned, "Go for it."

"What is this cr-" the Doctor was about to ask however he was soon cut off.

"What is this commotion?" a feminine voice came from their left. A woman with long blue flowing hair was approaching them but stopped as soon as she laid eyes on the evolved alien. "What manner of creature is that?!" she snapped as she reached for what appeared to be a wand, not noticing for a split second the Doctor and the others... Albedo however just grinned, though it was not visible, and lowered his visor.

"Look alive everyone!" he speedily said as he lowered his upper body and put his left leg back, preparing for a takeoff, "Equestria will be back to normal in ten seconds!"

Before anybody could even ask what sort of outrageous claim that was, the alien took off. The only thing marking that he was ever there where the small burn marks his wheels left in the dirt. All it took was for them to blink and the creature was nowhere anymore.

Jeff whistled in impressed joy, "Alright, that's speed right there."

As he declared, as soon as ten seconds were up the velociraptor like alien stood before them with a satisfied grin... Or at least the Doctor assumed he was grinning with his hands on his hips as he stood before them. However, as soon as he took his gaze away from the strange creature in front of his eyes, they went as wide as they could. Ponyville... the same Ponyville that was in ruins a mere ten seconds ago was in pristine condition, without any damages... even the snow was gone.

"Now, is this acceptable as 'helping in repairs'?" Albedo asked rapidly.

"This is..." the Doctor was at a loss of words.

"My word." the human woman from before spoke up in awe.

"Y-you... did this for us?" the broken winged pegasus asked, though she seemed rather shy.

"Of course!" Albedo nodded several times in a second, "A promise is a promise. Plus, I could not just bear the sight of this place. So, I fixed up everything."

"You... That's why you asked about someone who knows Equestria, just as I thought." the Doctor chuckled.

"Doctor!" the blue haired woman caught the Time Lord's attention, "What manner of a creature is this?"

"Nice to meet you Miss, my name is Albedo." Albedo introduced himself, "I am a creature not from this world, so it would be hard to describe in detail."

"I... see." the woman nodded, "In that case I'm Luna."

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Luna." Albedo nodded, "Now then." he clapped his clawed hands together and in a matter of seconds turned back... to his human form, "Well, this is certainly a kink I shall have to work on." he declared awkwardly as he garnered stares from around him save for those who already knew.

"You're a human?!" Rainbow snapped.

"Technically, though that is not important right now, we need to tend to the injured."

"Are you planning on doing that too?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

"Of course, I started it I might as well finish it." Albedo shrugged as he once more was enveloped in a red flash. Seconds later in his place stood a large humanoid plant like creature. It was tall and muscular, pale green in color with pale yellow claws on black hands the knuckles each spiked. His face a mix between pale yellow, red and orange which his crimson red eyes contrasted greatly. His arms right up to his shoulders had three pale red spots with pale yellow spots in them. He had a green horn on each foot, knee, and elbow. His neck had a collar around it which was the same pale yellow on the inside. "A Methanosian should do the job nicely." he put a finger to his chin, "Or perhaps, if I want to get done quicker..." he closed his eyes and once again began changing forms even further.

His body became larger, now appearing like a humanoid tree, the 'bark' a very pale brown color. His head or more specifically his face was contained in a large pale blue gooey shell, his shoulders containing similar formations. The shape of these shells made it seem like a tree was on fire. his hands contained three smaller shells which almost looked like detachable projectiles. His large wooden hands ended in four pale blue claws whilst his large feet resembled roots. The hourglass symbol moved from his stomach to his chest with the same four spikes, however this time they seemed much tamer. Piercing red eyes looked on from the large gooey shell at the top of the body. He proceeded to 'crack' his knuckles as he raised his large bulky hands in the air. "Now then." in a deep voice he said as small blue spores began pouring out from his palms, similar in color to what contained his head.

The spores just kept pouring and pouring nonstop eventually enveloping the sky above them, faintly visible, to form a makeshift blanket. Then Albedo brought his arms down and all the spores descended slowly, gently without a fuss. Each of them slowly made their way over to the wounded soldiers, civilians, victims, anyone who was even the slightest bit injured was getting spores flocking them. As soon as they made contact small vines began to sprout from them on the skins of those affected, but if one had to guess from their facial expression, rather than it being a painful sensation, they appeared to feel relieved after this. However even with the relief one would be a fool not to question vines suddenly growing out of their body, as such as all seemed to be done, Albedo once more transformed, this time into a small white humanoid creature with what appeared to be earphones around its head and Albedo's red eyes, a Sonorosian, a form known by Ben as Echo Echo. Without wasting a minute Albedo cloned himself and spread out, some clones teleporting away in an instant. As soon as one clone appeared at a vantage point it took a great breath and began: "Attention all citizens! The spores and vines are to tend all your injuries! They are as safe as they come and shall wither and disappear once your injuries have been fully healed! Those with broken bones however do try to keep your limb in place! I hope this will ease your suffering, even if only a little."

After his little speech, Albedo appeared in front of the group again, all clones gathering back and merging with the original soon before he turned back to his human form. He then sat down on a nearby chair and let out a lengthy sigh. "That took a lot out of me, I overused my transformations."

"Dude are you okay?" Jeff immediately ran over to Albedo, his voice sounding worried, even in his equine state.

"I shall be alright with a bit of rest." Albedo reassured his companion.

"What are you?" the woman known as Luna asked, her face showing a mix of relief, shock, horror and awe.

"Took the words right outta my mouth." Rainbow commented, having sat down in awe, not even sure what to say anymore. The Doctor himself looked on in total shock, if anything he did not expect _this_.

"Just a good samaritan from another world... Though I do not suppose you will take that and be happy." Albedo said with a shrug. "The Doctor knows most of the information, if you do not mind I would rather... sleep..." he finished with a yawn as his head drooped and he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

"Oi, don't sleep on me!" Jeff snapped, "I'm still a goddamn pony!" he used his horn to get the device out of Albedo's pockets and forcibly turn himself back into human form, "That's better." he said as he cracked his neck. "Can someone help me get him on a bed or something?"

"Sure, okay, yeah." Twilight nodded three times, more than likely still processing what has actually happened.

_**The Doctor**_

"That just happened." Rainbow suddenly declared.

"It sure did." Applejack nodded in response, just as confused as now instead of bandages she had vines around her torso.

"What kind of person did you guys meet anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked, confusion evident in her voice. "Who even is capable of all of... _this_?" she asked again as she looked at the completely repaired Ponyville again in awe.

"I do not yet know Pinkie Pie." the Doctor admitted, a small smile creeping on his face, "But I hope to find out."

_**Alright, no excuse here other than what I said at the top, I had a busy time adjusting to everything, but I think we'll get somewhat back on track in a little time. **_  
_**On the other hand, yes, this is what I consider the actual start of Problem with Portals, this one encounter. If you are wondering why it seems like it just cuts into what the Doctor and his companions are doing, that's because that was intentional. This encounter is in its entirety based on the world and story established by **_**The 1597 Faceless Writer**_**, another creator on this site, more specifically the very last current chapter of their story. I had gotten permission from them a long, long time ago to use their story's characters and elements but I had never thought it was good enough, part of the reason why this story started from scratch again. You can consider this as a sort of canon to mine, non-canon to their story, as with timelines and different worlds everything is possible.**_

_**Now, onto the designs. Ultimate Swampfire's design, and my best attempt at describing it since I can do that greatly, is by a user called Insane-Mane on deviantArt. I found their art by chance and instantly fell in love, please check them out and the amazing designs he has whipped up amongst other things.**_

_**On the other hand, Ultimate XLR8's design is something of an own creation. As much as I dislike the reboot, since I never even watched it and all, I found the design of 'Omni-Enhanced' XLR8 on the Ben 10 wiki, and liked the idea of the wheels, so I upgraded it and incorporated it as best as I could. The dorsal fin came about since some fish use it greatly in mobility, so why not have a creature that can easily go twice the speed of sound have something that helps in their movement. The exhaust on the other hand came about because of Ultimate Humungousaur's mechanical design, 'Why not give him a booster?' is the idea I went with, so imagine fire coming out from the end of the tail of a velociraptor, you're welcome.**_

_**As per Albedo custom, all the creatures have their colors a lot paler compared to Ben, which I think is a lot better than just changing the symbol of the Omnitrix, considering even in human form Albedo has a lot paler complexion than Ben does. (Plus, some aliens used by Albedo had the paler color scheme whilst others were made inexplicably redder. I am quite confused on that one but hey.)**_

_**Why Albedo did not use Clockwork? XLR8's process he deemed faster, and he rebuilt it all from scratch, or what remained instead of simply rewinding time, as such the buildings should be a lot more durable amongst other things, but then again you can do a lot of things when the world to you seems frozen.**_

_**Now, things should get more interesting from around here, with Albedo and Jeff 'stuck' in a world not their own for a lot longer period of time than before. What sort of adventure could await them? Who knows? No seriously, if someone knows please tell me.**_

_**Sorry for the long end note, you can go now.**_


	5. Separated

Chapter 5: Separated

_**Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**The Doctor**_

The Doctor and all his recent companions sat in relative silence in the middle of the library. Not much time had passed since the mysterious strangers they had met so suddenly had just as suddenly and seemingly solved their most concerning problems in a flash for them. The man known simply as Jeff was still unmoving, almost unnervingly so, staying next to his friend who just a mere hour ago seemed to simply turn back the clock with ease. As if the war did not even happen before, the small village was back in pristine condition... However, even so the losses still remained, that much could not be denied no matter how the Doctor would have wanted to. Despite the eerie and calm silence still permeating the room, one certain blue pegasus was not having any of it anymore.

"Aaargh!" she angrily ruffled her mane with a moderate shout, "I can't take it anymore! When will he wake up?!"

"Give it time Rainbow." Twilight scolded with a stern look. "These things take time."

"Precisely, he seems to have knocked himself out quite good." the Doctor nodded, though his mind seemed to still be wondering about several things, "I do not quite yet understand how exactly his powers work, but using that many clones and teleporting all over Equestria is no easy feat if we go about it logically. Well any sort of logic that would even apply to this situation." he added, "Of course it would tire one out."

"...I know, I know." Rainbow sighed dejectedly, then she looked over to the stranger on the ground, "I just want some answers!" she snapped, "He shows up all of the sudden outta nowhere and 'boom!' all our problems are just gone! That _isn't_ normal."

"Rainbow, our lives aren't normal." Spike chipped in, glancing at the lavender unicorn for a few seconds, "Not anymore."

"I..." Rainbow was caught off-guard by such a hasty response, and from the little dragon no less, "Haaah, yeah. Okay. You're right." she angrily crossed her forelegs quite humanely and sat down on the ground close to Jeff and his friend with a pout, still looking intently at the white-haired stranger.

"Yeah, he does that." Jeff chipped in with a shrug as he noticed the pegasus' close presence, "That's how we met in fact."

"And what, you just up and followed him home?"

"Pretty much." he shrugged again, turning to face them "Plus we beat some giant freaky mantis thing so that's definitely a plus." he chuckled, much to the distaste of some others in the room, Rainbow however seemed intrigued somewhat, the Doctor similarly so, "My life has been all kinds of exciting since I left my old world behind so I'm happy if anything." he then seemed to ponder a bit, his thoughts apparently going somewhere else, as if longing, "You should stick with him a bit, maybe you wouldn't be so reckless after that, eh, _Dashie_?" he teased the pegasus.

"Perhaps that would help." the Doctor mused teasingly gaining a wide eyed glare from the pegasus.

"Yeah, maybe we wouldn't be in danger as much eh?" Applejack caught on and continued with a grin.

"Hey!" Rainbow snapped, "Stop teaming up on me!"

"But you make it so easy, _Dashie_." Jeff continued, once again using the same nickname, which Rainbow successfully picked up on this time, her attention not taken by the Doctor and her friend anymore.

"How did you-" the pegasus snapped, however her own embarrassment cut her off as her cheeks flashed pink.

"You are all fiction to me where I'm from, I know all about you lot." he then turned towards the Doctor, pointing at him exaggeratedly, "That includes you as well bud."

"I realized that, thank you." the Doctor chuckled, "Not the first time it happened either now that I think about it." he then stood up and walked over to the unconscious body of the seemingly young man, followed soon by Rainbow, the others content with just listening, Rarity especially, having to keep her leg still for it to heal correctly. "In that case, what else can you tell me about _him_?"

"Well, where should I start?" Jeff pondered, "First off, he's older than you." he declared nonchalantly to the Doctor, catching him off guard. Twilight as well seemed to listen even more intently now.

"He's-"

"I believe you are currently around 906, right?" Jeff waited for the small confirming nod the Doctor gave him before continuing, "Albedo's 917, so listen to your elders child!" he added in a mocking tone before chuckling, but he waved the thought away and continued soon after with a dismissive wave of his hands "Nevermind that fact for now. What exactly do you want to know though? You know his age, race, the fact that he's from a different world, literally all of his current powers, what do you want a mobile number? Cause I actually think I have it."

"N-no that won't be necessary." the Doctor coughed, trying to ease the awkward situation, "I would have just liked a little insight on the whole transformation schtick? If at all possible?"

"OH." Jeff audibly realized, "Why didn't you say that in the first place? I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the shed, you should speak clearly."

"I see." the Doctor nodded, surprised by the sudden splurge of honesty and self-deprecation, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, you see, remember how he told you about Ben and the Omnitrix?" Jeff asked and only the Doctor nodded approvingly, realizing he still has not told the others about that little anecdote. As such he apologized to the white skinned man and proceeded to tell the stories the two told them before arriving back in Ponyville, with the help of Twilight and Derpy to speed things along, Jeff listened surprisingly patiently, even correcting them on some details they got wrong if any, but nevertheless in the end everyone was caught up on the story, "Riiight~. Aight, so their relationship wasn't always so peachy."

"How come? With what you said, those two seem like people who were friends from the start." Rarity asked.

"'I would trust Benjamin with my life if I needed to. The boy's got talent. I was just too blind to see it for the longest time.' I believe he said." the Doctor quoted, "I too would like to hear what he meant by that if you would."

"Obviously you know that he was on board the Omnitrix project and all." Jeff continued, the Doctor nodding along, "So differently to how it happened in the show, in his world he had someone he liked, another scientist named Rednus." he let out a sigh, "Seems to me that she was really important to him and all. Anyways they warmed up to each other during the time they were on the project... However, it all changed after it was actually finished. 'Pparently they were keeping the thing in temporary storage, but due to a lapse in judgement or whatever, the thing was contained above a functioning power core. Long story short, they separated to check on different things before finishing their day, and Rednus got the Omnitrix. Thing is, someone broke in to steal the thing."

The Doctor sighed inwardly, as he prepared himself to a story that could only end in disaster.

"Rednus didn't even have the chance to protect the thingy before she was hanging on to dear life. The struggling caught our boy's attention so he ran back, but as he rushed at the thief, their own struggle made Rednus fall, with Albedo not being able to pull her up at all... The thief mysteriously disappeared without the Omnitrix, and Albedo was held accountable since there wasn't any proof that someone broke in, and any that _was_ there was easily connected to Albedo without an investigation." Jeff sighed himself, "In the end, Rednus' disappearance came to light and the charges of Albedo only grew. During his time in temporary confinement until a decision was reached, he caught wind of the Omnitrix being sent to Earth and who it belonged to now... But by that point he was bound to go to prison... So five Earth years had passed before he successfully broke out, assumed the form of Ben, made a replica watch entirely on his own, and went after the real watch in the hopes of somehow appeasing his so called 'foster-father' Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix who according to him didn't so much as stand up for the guy... His mind wasn't in the right place then."

"O-oh..." Rainbow audibly quieted down as she looked at the soundly sleeping boy.

"What followed was a pointless struggle to get back the Omnitrix, a weird link with the real one, and him gaining the form now... Although sometime down the line seems even the more detailed features switched, if you noticed, the 10 on the jacket is mirrored and all. Nevermind that, Albedo kept up the struggle for a good year or so, making questionable decisions later on only just wanting to return to his original body... But it all failed, and he gave up. The last time he was released all he wanted was to just disappear without a trace... Which probably meant a lot worse too now that I think about it... But, he met up with Ben, the two talked then he was whisked off into the first appearance of the portal, and with it into an alternate world."

"I see..." the Doctor sighed, "Then, that-"

"Except that was all fake and everybody was already captured by the changed Plumbers." Jeff quickly added, the Doctor's eyes with the others going wide in surprise, "Albedo broke out of a simulated world thanks to the portal, and in turn once he returned with his newfound powers, he broke out Ben and the others... And then the sort of Resistance or whatevs was born. No official name yet or anything. Ben's gramps, who was at a great rank inside the actual Plumbers, is in critical condition after being under fuckin' horrible conditions." Jeff angrily tightened his fists, "Sorry, I'm just... Pissed about this whole thing."

"It's not even your world, and yet you're so concerned." the Doctor smiled, though his concerns grew and his smile faded once Jeff's blue eyes locked with his brown ones.

"The man looked like a typical chubby plumber doing good for his age and quite healthy." Jeff started out of nowhere, "Now he looks like an anorexic eighty-year-old." his eyes were wide open with apparent fury, "They _starved_ him Doc. Starved! He was kept on the bare fucking minimum to survive, a man of his caliber!" his fist tightened so much that a trickle of blood ran down it as he sighed to let the steam out.

The Doctor was silent upon learning this, having no answer besides pure shock filling his body. Of course he has seen worse, of course he has lived through worse, the war just recently was enough proof, but torture still left a bad feeling in his mind, especially one such as this... Prolonging one's suffering just for their own enjoyment.

"It's my childhood!" Jeff added to his outburst, "It has everything to do with me... The happy place me and my little brother had, where we escaped to... And now it's all being ruined by that asshole called Clyde." he let out a lengthy sigh, clicking his tongue in apparent frustration "I haven't spoken like that in years." he chuckled, holding half of his face with his hand, "Haaah... My life's a big mess."

"He went through... all that?" Rainbow slowly asked as she looked at Albedo, the Doctor could easily tell that she too was perturbed about this information bomb.

"Don't go fallin' in love now Dashie." Jeff chuckled, teasing the pegasus but at the same time trying to ease his mind and as an unexpected side effect he somewhat eased the tension as well.

"I- Wha- Huh?!" Rainbow spluttered. She was flustered beyond belief, even surprising the Doctor but at the same time causing a snide chuckle to escape from him, a slight tinge of pink showed across her cheeks as she flapped her wings in a quicker succession.

Jeff laughed, "Relax, I'm just messing with ya." he sighed soon after, "Thought we all needed it with how much I brought the mood down."

"Thank you for sharing all that." the Doctor declared honestly, "But are you sure you should have said... all of it?"

"If you mean the stuff about Rednus, he's done processing it, according to him at least." he shrugged, "If anything he would have told you eventually himself. Never know with him though, he probably still feels responsible, but the past can't be changed. Though I suppose I don't have to tell _you _that."

"It sure can't..." Applejack nodded in silence. Jeff picked up on it but didn't dare question it.

"It's a bit different in his world than what you're used to Doc." Jeff explained further, "In his world changing the past doesn't really have any grave consequences like yours... Well not in the traditional sense at least. Instead any little thing you change just creates a parallel dimension."

"Hmm, intriguing." the Doctor admitted, intrigue once again flashing in his eyes "I guess not having to deal with Reapers is a plus in the end."

"Anyhow, don't mind it." Jeff waved his hand dismissively, "He'll probably wake up soon and everything will be back to normal." he flinched suddenly but did not openly continue 'Was that a flag?'

"If you say so." the Time Lord nodded reluctantly, picking up on his unease.

At that moment, there was a gentle knock on the door of the library, causing everyone currently inside save for the soundly sleeping Galvan to turn towards it. The Doctor, being the relative closest to it went to open it. On the other side stood the human version of Luna, her expression looking quite relieved.

"Doctor, if I may have a word with you?"

"Of course." the Doctor nodded, "Come on in."

With a brief nod, Luna stepped inside the library, sitting down on a nearby chair as the others looked at her expectantly, "In light of recent events," she started, briefly glancing at the unconscious stranger nearby, a small smile on her face, "We were thinking of finally heading home." she sighed in relief, "It is about time. I came to say goodbye, and to perhaps ask a favor."

"I would be more than happy to take you all back." the Doctor nodded, immediately understanding the details of the favor, "However... will you be alright?" he looked concerned as he locked eyes with the blue haired woman, "Your world was amongst the first targets, if this one is anything to go by, fixing everything is going to be-"

"No, Doctor." Luna shook her head in denial, "I appreciate it, but it is our problem... We caused enough other problems as it is, I cannot simply involve you any further."

"Y'know that ain't exactly gonna fly if Albedo learns about this right?" Jeff chipped in, not showing any formalities.

"I especially cannot ask _that_ of that young man." Luna said indignantly, "Just look at how he is right now. I do not know how he managed, but what he did was truly a miracle, and I won't deny that... But it clearly caused him strain."

"Ah, no worries. He'll be right as rain soon enough." Jeff waved dismissively, "Either way it really is your choice."

"Are you sure..?" Rainbow reluctantly asked as she looked at the unconscious human, "He looks-" however at that point she was forcefully shoved away from the man by Jeff himself, causing a good couple audible gasps, as she landed on the ground however, her balance broken, she took a couple seconds to open her eyes again... however she wished she didn't, "Hey, what's the big-" all color seemed to have drained from her face upon opening her eyes again.

In front of her stood Jeff, facing the supposedly unconscious man on the cushions... his throat completely impaled by a large, thick pale purple spider leg. In her shock and fear she barely noticed the deathly glare the man on the ground was giving off at that moment, but he wasn't moving an inch... Then her eyes returned to Jeff, her eyes not wanting to register the sight.

"Seriously... what's up with you these days?!" to everyone's apparent surprise Jeff somehow muttered in the most distorted voice possible, slowly trying to remove the extra appendage from his throat, "You need to get yourself under control man." he continued in a relatively calm state.

"_Who... you..?_" Albedo seemed to ask in broken words, in an almost monotone, as if he just strung already used words together.

"I'm your friend dumbass." Jeff spat, his throat beginning to heal already, "Goddammit, how the hell am I supposed to wash all this blood out again?!"

"_Friend..?_"

"Yes, friend. If you even know what that is. Search your memories or whatever." Jeff snapped, "Or just give me back Albedo to talk to!"

"_Friend... all?_"

"Yeah, yeah, everyone in here and outside. You don't have to be so on guard." he sighed, calming down by sheer will, "So how about you let your body rest, eh?"

"_Fine._"

"Damn it all." Jeff swore as he fell on his back with a large thud and a sigh, only then did he realize that everyone was still staring at him with eyes as wide as sauce pans. "Damn it all..."

_**Meanwhile**_

_**Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Ben was sitting anxiously on the bed, alone in Albedo's room, fidgeting with his hands without pause. To his surprise, the room felt really similar to the one he had back home, or the one he made his new one to look like, albeit way less decorated, making him wonder how the alien had any knowledge of what his room looked like. 'Or is this just a coincidence?' he mused. He figured with how long Albedo was usually sticking around anyway it did its purpose. However, what surprised him more was that he was even sitting here.

"No..." he let out a sigh, "You promised to fill in for him. No ulterior motives here, nope, none." he tried but failed to convince himself, getting flustered despite himself, facepalming hard and laying back on the bed. "Who am I kidding, I'm worried as hell."

His worries were short lived however as the nearby wall began to sparkle with purple energy, signaling the activation of the communication spell both his cousin and Charmcaster were so adept at using by now and at the same time making him practically jump back up into a sitting position. As the communication spell was taking form it told him that it was finally time to talk. Something he was suddenly oh so afraid of. In a matter of seconds, the face of his cousin and best friend popped up, and it took the same amount of time for them to look on confusedly at the spell-cast window.

"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed in surprise and happiness, "I wasn't expecting you."

"I figured." Ben chuckled, "Your face is quite an indication to that. But with Albedo off who-knows-where, I'm filling in for him."

A concerned look wormed its way onto the redhead's face, "It opened again..?" she asked with a frustrated sigh. "Did he go alone?" surprisingly to Ben, Gwen seemed to be worried for the former rogue Galvan.

"Nah, Jeff practically dragged him with him." Ben clarified, a small chuckle to accompany his statement, "Still feels weird to say that."

"You're tellin' me." Kevin nodded. "Though when even we say that something is weird, I think we should be afraid." he chuckled, Ben following along.

"You got that right Kev." the hero smiled, "Our lives keep getting turned more and more upside down."

"Maybe, but we are used to that stuff." Gwen smiled warmly, but then looked away for a couple seconds.

"Is something wrong Gwen?" Ben asked with concern written all over his face.

"It's just... It's nice to see you smiling more Ben." the redhead answered honestly.

That statement caught Ben completely off-guard. Was he really not the same as he was a year ago? His cousin, his best friend, Charmcaster, all of them seemed to state that. Maybe even he had not realized, but when did it start? "R-really?"

"Ever since we came back from that trip... You were like a different person Ben." Kevin answered quite honestly. Ben knew they were serious, since if he had to admit, Kevin rarely called him by name. The face they gave to him was one filled with pure relief, as if one of their long-lasting troubles had just solved itself. "You were stoic, and all around lame dude." that gained him an elbow from Gwen to his side.

"But as surprising it is to admit, ever since you ran into Albedo... Ever since he mysteriously broke us out with that absurd power, you've been smiling more and more. I can see you being happy, I _hear_ you are happy, I can feel it. I don't exactly know what happened, and perhaps it's better that way but you're slowly but surely returning to the Ben we knew... And for that, as weird as it is to say, I can never really thank Albedo enough. Whatever he did... However it happened, he got through to you when none of us could."

"I... I didn't-" 

"Don't worry about it Ben." Kevin smiled, "What matters is that you're on your way back."

"I really didn't think of that." Ben muttered silently to himself, the two on the other end just smiling at his apparent realization.

"Anyhow, what's the sitch?"

"Other than the portal thing, not exactly too much." Ben shrugged, putting the previous thoughts behind him for now, "Albedo completed that cloaking device he told you about, or at least I hope he did." he waited until he gained a couple affirmative nods, "The others and I took to training in the Training Room... But Hope..."

"What happened?" Gwen asked, concern showing on her face clearly.

"The problem is that nothing happened."

"Huh?"

"Ever since we came back from that post-apocalyptic wasteland, she has holed herself up in her room... I haven't even seen her come out to eat." the hero let out a sigh, "Albedo managed to get her to speak, but all she told him was that she was working on some new spell... She wouldn't tell us what though." Ben hung his head, "I'm afraid she might be pushing herself too hard. Though that's rich coming from me."

"Hope ain't exactly one to stop early." Kevin nodded in agreement, "Try to do something for her Tennyson, even gettin' her out of her room should be fine."

"I'm not gonna stop trying if anything." Ben smiled sadly, "On the other hand grandpa seems to be on his way to recovery." he added with a relieved smile, soon joined by the other two, "He and Patelliday have been making steady progress... Still no signs of waking up though, and he still doesn't look anywhere near the average weight he is supposed to have."

"We'll get there Tennyson." Kevin reassured him, "As long as those guys are with ya, they'll be up and runnin' in no time."

"I hope so Kevin... I really do."

Ben continued talking with his cousin and Kevin for a good half hour after that about each of their respective situations, sharing all the information since the last week that could have proven useful or positive. In the end, Kevin left to do some tasks given to him, saying his goodbyes and leaving Ben and his cousin alone.

"Ben..."

"Yeah?" Ben raised his head at her cousin's call.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you kinda feeling out of it." she smiled, "What's up?" as opposed to their previous topic, Ben felt that this was referring to what was actually concerning him currently.

"Haah..." Ben let out a sigh with a small smile, "Really can't keep anything from you can I?"

"That's why I'm here cous'." she smiled warmly.

"It's just... Albedo told me, before he left, that... Kai is there... with you?" he seemed to struggle towards the end but eventually got the point across.

Gwen just smiled warmly, "Why yes, she is here." she confirmed, "And she's been all kinds of anxious ever _since_ coming here, even if she tries to hide it."

"I guess meeting Albedo first didn't help too much huh?" Ben sighed.

"Not a lot, no." Gwen shrugged, then pondered for a bit "Should I... call her here?"

"...Please." Ben nodded, "I better not put this off any longer."

"Alright." Gwen nodded as she stood up to leave, "Do your best dweeb."

"I'll try doofus." Ben smiled nervously as his cousin left the room on the other side.

_**The Farms, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

As Gwen got up from her chair she made her way out from her office into the farms, the place where Kai Green was currently busying herself into work. No matter how much she tried to hide it from the Anodite, the Navajo girl frantically escaped to different kind of works around the colony to avoid thinking about Ben, she supposedly didn't want herself to worry, but in the end it just turned into a bigger mess inside her heart and head. As Gwen entered the Farms, she saw the multiple rows of crops that thanks to their situation reappeared the next day without pause. The large rows of different kind of crops were tended to each day since they have figured out the world reset. Each day people assigned to the farms would harvest enough of the crops to keep the colony going for the day, just to spare time amongst other things. As the redhead entered the large green house styled building further, she was greeted by the sight of Kai, two other humans, and four Cerebrocrustaceans tending to their own individual rows, the crab like aliens using their own version of farming tools. They seemed to be chatting amongst themselves whilst working tirelessly, and in the general sense having fun. The Cerebrocrustacean part of the colony having warmed up to their human cohabitants, the shared work was going easier than anyone could have hoped for. The Pisciss Volann's on the other hand were faster at doing so, whilst Gwen on her end was just happy that they could all work together without trouble. Bellwood's inhabitants seemed to be much more warmed up to the idea of working with aliens than anyone could have thought.

"Kai!" she called out to the girl in the middle, catching her attention quite fast, "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure!" the Navajo girl confirmed with a nod before turning to her working powers, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"No need to rush, Kai." a Cerebrocrustacean smiled at her with an easing wave of his claws.

"Yeah, take your time." a tall man nodded along, a wide smile on his face, "Gwendolyn seemed happy so it might be some good news for you?"

"If you say so." Kai smiled with a small shrug before setting off towards Gwen. "What's up?"

"Not much." Gwen chuckled, "It's nice to see all of you getting along though."

"Oh yeah, it's surprising how easy it is to work together with all of us huh."

"It really is." the redhead nodded before locking eyes with Kai, "I guess I shouldn't sugarcoat it any further. Kai, there's a 'call' for you."

"A 'call'?" Kai raised an eyebrow, "But I thought phones were-" however she stopped herself mid-sentence as her eyes went wide in realization, remembering Gwen filling her in on the communication magic soon after Albedo left back when they arrived, "You don't mean?!"

Gwen just smiled warmly, "Yeah, I do. Go to my 'office'..." she shuddered, "Still feels weird to say that. Anyway, I'll fill in for you whilst you're gone."

"Thank you!" the black-haired girl seemed to have cheered up a lot more as she sped off.

"Don't thank me for anything." Gwen chuckled, "Just speak your heart out." she turned towards the workers, "Guess I'll take my mind off of things for now." she shrugged as she shouted at one of the workers, asking if she could help out, who in turn welcomed her with open arms.

_**Gwen's 'Office', Conference Room, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Kai practically rushed through the doors of the compact room, barely catching her breath before noticing the large purple oval window, just as Gwen had described back then, on the nearby wall, the glass surface of it acting as a mirror... Ben practically looked dumbfounded at her bombastic entrance. They locked eyes for a good couple seconds as Kai's breathing slowed down to its normal pace before anyone said anything.

"Kai..." Ben quietly muttered, distraught by how nervous, or more like how worried, the girl looked.

"Ben!" Kai ecstatically declared as she rushed over to the wall, stopping herself from going in for a currently impossible hug, "You're okay! Oh, thank god!"

"Woah, woah!" Ben held up his hands, "What's with the sudden concern? Of course I'm okay!" he boasted.

"I knew I shouldn't have been concerned but..." Kai sighed, not even bothered by Ben trying to act how he usually does around her, "When we heard you were captured, grandpa and I were so worried!"

"What, you thought I couldn't escape?" Ben teased, only intent on seeing a reaction, however Kai locked her worried eyes with his making him stop.

"Of course I didn't!" Kai exclaimed, confirming her confidence in the Omnitrix bearer, but soon after she looked away, a certain sadness appeared on her face, "But then... days... weeks passed, and we still haven't gotten a word from you. Nothing... At all." she sighed as she sat down on Gwen's chair. "I was just... really worried okay?" she declared almost silently, locking eyes with Ben. Brown almost trembling eyes locking with green ones as Kai wiped the forming tears away before they could spill.

"C'mon Mrs. Tennyson, you can't keep worrying about me like that!" Ben teased further, getting Kai and in turn himself flustered up in the process, which was not at all his intention.

"O-oh, shut up!" Kai blurted out in her flustered state, "We spoke as soon as you guys got back from that trip and then after that you just up and disappear! For weeks even! How could I not have been worried?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Ben nodded, looking down at his hands, "I know, I was just messing around."

"If you get it then-"

"Still... Thank you." Ben suddenly said with a lot more sincerity, raising his head and locking eyes once again with the Navajo girl, "For worrying about me, and for trying to find me." he looked down at his hands briefly and muttered "Even after how I treated you all the time." before turning back to face her.

"Huh?" Kai raised an eyebrow in confusion, not wanting to let Ben know that he did not say it quietly enough and that she had heard it all she just looked at him with a small smile, "Of course I would do that you doofus!" she quieted down, the word 'doofus' ringing in Ben's ears for a little while, blushing a little, "We _have_ been official for a while haven't we? I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

Ben too had a shade of pink run across his face as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and was at a loss of words for a couple seconds, "Huh, yeah... Yeah, we have. We really have been." he confidently declared, "I kinda wish you were next to me right now though." he ruffled his hair, "It would really help right now, after all this..." his thoughts flashed back to the conversation with his cousin and best friend just earlier.

"I guess the feeling's mutual." she then immediately pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Ugh, when are we gonna stop acting like awkward lovestruck teenagers around each other?" she asked with a small smile.

Ben laughed, "When we stop being teenagers." he joked, "But knowing us, even than that would probably be 'never'. Or... maybe when we next see each other in person?" he asked cheekily.

"I'm gonna make that a promise Ben." Kai grinned, to Ben's surprise, then sighed again, "I'm really, _really_ glad you're okay. Don't _ever_ do that again."

"Hey, so am I and it's not like it was my intention to be captured." he mock pouted for a second, "But then again the Omnitrix wouldn't let me die anyway." Ben shrugged much to Kai's discomfort.

"Don't do this. Please don't get conceited Ben." she pleaded, "You can't keep depending on the watch to save you all the time."

"Yeah, I realized that sooner than you'd expect." Ben admitted, "On the other hand, I didn't know how far Clyde's current network has reached, I didn't wanna think the worst knowing you, and I couldn't risk calling you... But y'know there's always that feeling."

"I get it." Kai nodded with a small sigh, disappointed at Ben's blatant change of the topic, 'I won't let you go down that path Ben.' she added in his thoughts though still she acted along.

"I pushed it away countless times but it just kept coming back." Ben continued, "I guess I should really keep track of what's important to me more huh?"

"Maybe you should. Maybe both of us should." Kai shrugged, "We're both in this mess now after all. Together."

"Yeah, yeah, we are. And if anyone, I'm glad it's you. Even if that sounds kinda cheesy." Ben admitted, in turn getting both of them to laugh, "That reminds me, how's Mr. Wes?"

"Oh grandpa's fine! He's also helping out around here don't worry." Kai explained with a relieved smile, "We came searching for all of you, you see? We went through a lot of trouble to get some leads. In the end we found the colony and for a lack of better option stayed to help around. It's better than the alternative." she then glared at Ben much to his surprise, "And what do we find when we get here? Someone who looks exactly like you and is scary as hell!" she snapped.

Ben laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head "Haha, I guess you _did_ meet Albedo huh?"

"Duh!" Kai deadpanned, "What is with him anyway? How come one of your so-called villains just up and switches sides like that?"

"It's... It's really complicated." Ben admitted.

"I bet it is." Kai crossed her arms with a pout, "And I guess you can't share it with me, huh?"

"No! Nothing like that!" Ben immediately denied it much to Kai's surprise. "It's not that I _can't_ but more I _shouldn't_. I don't know what opinion you have of him right now, but I don't want it to worsen. I trust him as much as I trust you." he revealed, "He has given me a lot of reasons to do so."

"Was he that bad that you think I'd just label him something?" Kai asked in disbelief, "Sure he was scary but-"

"C'mon, he's not that bad!" Ben reasoned.

"He twisted a plumber rifle like a balloon and threw it away so my grandpa wouldn't shoot him." Kai deadpanned causing Ben to cringe.

"Okay, point taken." Ben nodded, "But he really isn't bad! He was just... not in a right place back then. He did a lot of things that were and still are questionable, but most of it was directed at me." he shrugged, "Seems that when you have this thing on your arm," he indicated to the Omnitrix, "Attempts at your life don't seem too threatening."

"To be fair, if I knew I couldn't die I'd probably get carried away as well. So it might be hypocritical of me, but that is precisely why I told you to be careful."

"I know, but that's the thing Kai." Ben sighed, "I realized I'm not that great back when we lost Logan..." he clutched his head, feeling that all his pent-up emotion was more than likely going to be released, even if he didn't want it to, not now... or not ever. "I have all this power at the tip of my fingers and yet I couldn't do anything to protect him..."

"Ben..."

"No, no, I'm okay... I'm okay." his eyes were beginning to get misty, making him reach for them, "I just sometimes wonder... If I had reached out to him, if I had inquired more about why he wanted the watch... Maybe we could have gone a completely different way, not all... _this_. You know I just feel like this whole thing is my fault. Somehow it always ties back to me, this too must be my fault somehow... That it's all out of my control now, I was too eager, I was too haughty, I was careless... and it all came back to bite me twice as hard." he couldn't stop it, the words were just forming now, all his true thoughts since losing Logan and shutting himself in were about to come out... Right in front of the one person Ben didn't want to worry any more than he already did.

"Ben, you can't-"

"Of course I can!" he snapped back, surprising the Navajo girl, but himself just as well, "My own careless desire for adventure resulted in all of this! All of it! We toured around the goddamn universe and made friends only to lose them all to some damn shadow creatures?! Why do I have this power if I can't even save one life? Tour the universe? What kind of bullshit was I on to think of that?!" he snapped, reaching for his head much to Kai's surprise and worry, "And then we come back to whatever became of Earth? Grandpa... Grandpa is in critical condition, the Plumbers are ruined, Bellwood is isolated... Earth is on the edge of total tyranny and... and _you_." he locked eyes with Kai again, who was showing her worry on her face, his eyes however were full of tears, "I have gotten _you_ of all people into this. I didn't want this... I didn't want any of it. Why can't things go back to how they were a year ago?! When I still felt like I was worth something?" and so the hero cried, all his pent-up grief and sorrow, self-hate and denial, everything spilled out along with the tears flooding from his eyes. He buried his face in his hands to hide the onslaught of tears that he has kept in for the past half year, there was no stopping it now... Or so he thought.

"**BEN TENNYSON!**" Kai shouted at the top of her lungs snapping Ben completely out of it and made him look up at her in confusion, his tears still barely stopping, "Don't you dare talk about yourself like that!" she snapped, "You of all people shouldn't even think of this kind of talk!"

"Kai, I-"

"No Ben, this is not normal. This is not okay, nor is it healthy for you." Kai declared persistently, "This is not you, this is not Ben Tennyson." she continued, her arms still crossed, though as she was scolding her boyfriend, she felt all the more reason to be sad, "Where did all your cocky attitude go? Your quips? The positive outlook to everything? The sass? The mental fortitude? Did all of it just go down the drain?" she let out a sigh, "You and I are both still teens for god's sake! This is not how you are supposed to be acting! Hiding all your frustrations, trying to not make us worry..." she sighed.

"Kai, I really-"

"Ben, this is what made us worry from the start!" she declared, catching Ben off guard, this was the second time today someone told him they were worried. "Did you think we didn't notice? Did you think we wouldn't care? Did you think we didn't know you were putting up a front? I haven't seen you in five months, but Gwen... your cousin told me all of it, what you failed to mention to me. Of course, she of all people would notice the changes in you, they all would." Kai herself now was on the verge of tears, "She even worried you were going to-"

"I would never!" Ben adamantly snapped as Kai looked him in the eyes.

"How could she have known?!" she shouted, "You didn't realize what you put them through, her and Kevin. Gwen told me that she had never felt you so out of touch before, so out of grasp... Not even when you were little."

"Gwen..." Ben was visibly shocked, 'So, that's what that smile meant... That's why she was so relieved? What did I-"

"If you get this depressed about failing, how did you even succeed so far?" Kai asked, "How did you power through your life like that?"

"It's the first time a failure of mine has costed somebody else their life!" Ben spat his moment of fury returning, "Excuse me for not being all upbeat and peachy."

"Look, I know I didn't phrase it right." Kai admitted, as she sighed and Ben did the same, somehow calming down both of them, "I'm just saying that with the kind of life you have been leading, it's a _great_ surprise this didn't happen sooner. It wasn't your fault. None of it was." she declared solemnly, "Logan of all people wouldn't blame you."

"I... I know he wouldn't." Ben let out a lengthy sigh, realizing her girlfriend was right on the money, "But I still can't get his screaming out of my ears you know?" he looked up at Kai with still teary eyes, "It's so hard to let go and I don't think I'll ever be able to." he wiped the remaining tears away, trying to compose himself, flashing a smile that any other time Kai would have deemed inappropriate, but now she was just happy to see one of Ben's sincere smiles, however it faded, "And now even Albedo became an anomaly to me. He's immortal Kai! How am I supposed to process that? How is _he_ supposed to?"

"I don't think any of us are ready for that." Kai admitted, "Things have been changing a lot lately, with you, with me... with the Plumbers. It all became so strange ever since you guys came back, it's getting harder and harder to keep up. A year ago, I wouldn't have even imagined I'd be living under the Pacific Ocean." that got a laugh out of Ben.

"I can imagine that." he nodded before his eyes lit up, putting the topic of immortality in the back of his mind "Wait! I've got an idea!"

"Uh-oh." Kai gulped though inwardly she was more than happy that Ben seemed to have cheered up.

"Wait there!" Ben said as he ran out of the room, not paying attention to the utter look of worry Kai had on her face and leaving her just as confused and alone in Gwen's office, "I'm glad you're back." she chuckled despite herself, "I'm truly glad I was the one you decided to share all that with. I just hope you don't start to bottle things up again."

Kai spent the next couple minutes in an eerie silence, at one point almost deciding on just getting up and leaving, before:

"Kai." the voice came from directly behind her in the office, that of Ben's.

The black haired girl immediately turned around, her eyes going wide at the sight of Ben standing behind her, behind him the tall faceless man. The suited creature did a small wave before he disappeared in a flash, leaving only Ben there. The two stared at each other for at least half a minute in silence before Kai started running without any worries. In a matter of seconds, the girl embraced the watch bearing hero in a warm hug, who as to not lose his balance spun around twice with the girl in his arms.

"You..." Kai muttered, her face half buried in Ben's chest, "We're keeping your promise now. No more awkwardness."

"Of course not." Ben nodded as he pulled her in for a tighter hug, "We are way past that."

Kai chuckled at that before forcefully pulling Ben in for a small kiss, "There, let's make that the seal."

Ben was shocked for a total of four seconds before both of them laughed in joy, letting go of each other being content with each other's presence for now. At least until Ben broke out in a wide grin and turned to Kai, who just looked at him in disbelief, having an inkling to what the boy might have been about to suggest.

"C'mon! Gwen's gonna be so shocked!" Ben ecstatically declared almost running out of the room.

"Oh, you ruined it!" Kai chuckled as she ran after her boyfriend. 'But that's okay. You just keep smiling.' she added happily in her thoughts.

_**Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**The Doctor**_

After significantly calming down, the Doctor would have been pinching his nose if he could at the moment, "So... Let me get this straight. You're telling me that your friend's brain... is collapsing in on itself?" he asked in disbelief upon hearing the story Jeff had told him relating to what had transpired just minutes ago.

"Y'know when you say it like that it sounds really bad." Jeff pointed out, but then nodded "But basically yeah. The working theory is that his brains were overloaded with all the new information and all the deaths and stuff, but nothing is sure yet. Obviously the other 'personality' or whatever exists, as you've seen. Either way the whole thing's a big damn mess. And the worst of all is that he can't even control the other guy... He's just there."

"I believe that." the Time Lord nodded, then glanced over at the unconscious boy, "Will he be back to normal when he wakes up?"

"I hope so." Jeff shrugged, then looked down at his hoodie again and frowned, "Man and he just cleaned this thing too!"

"That's your biggest concern?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Not the still visible wound on your neck?" however weird it felt to have asked that, Rainbow could not deny that the wound was significantly smaller than before.

"Give it five seconds and that's gone." Jeff waved his hands dismissively, much to the pegasus' discomfort, "But blood doesn't exactly wash out easily from white stuff!"

"How are you so unconcerned with your own wellbeing?" Rarity couldn't help but ask.

"Hey, I learned I was immortal about four months ago." Jeff declared, "After that things kinda took a turn. I'm the crazy one in this relationship." he said pointing towards his head much to the confusion of the others. "So don't exactly expect me to think rationally. In the heat of the moment anything can happen. Plus, I heal a lot faster than he does. Though that was a painful process to find out." he cringed.

"Come here, I can clean your hoodie in a second." Twilight sighed upon noticing that Jeff was still fidgeting with his article of clothing instead of more serious things.

"Really?!" Jeff grinned widely, somewhat looking unhinged.

"Yes, yes now come on." Twilight chuckled gently as her horn lit up. A small white bubble enveloped the patch around the collar of the hoodie and expanded greatly covering the entirety of the stain. It stayed on the hoodie for roughly ten seconds before popping like soap bubbles and the piece of clothing remained squeaky clean.

"Oh! I love you so much for this!" Jeff jumped around ecstatically, like a slightly creepier version of Pinkie Pie if Twilight and the Doctor had to put the sight anywhere.

"My, of all the people to meet after all this." the Doctor sighed referring to their own situation. "Well either way, I best not keep Luna waiting any longer, I shall take them back home like she asked then we can figure things out when I get back." Indeed, upon hearing most of the story the otherworldly queen excused herself to prepare her troops for departure.

"Suit yourself." Jeff shrugged, turning to face the chestnut stallion, "Not like we're really goin' anywhere. Though I'm still saying that Albedo ain't gonna like that tho'."

_**Jeff**_

Before the Doctor could have left the confines of the library however, Jeff immediately spoke up again following his previous shrug, his voice suddenly sounding really panicked.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on." he said in rapid succession, getting up, running over to the Doctor and grabbing him by his equivalent of shoulders. "You know how to travel between dimensions with your TARDIS?"

"Yes." the Doctor nodded, slightly shaken up, "It was a sudden but rather welcome find actually."

"This is bad... Really bad."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing much, just remember how we told you how Albedo gets new abilities?"

The Doctor's eyes grew as wide as saucepans, "H-he wouldn't."

"Oh, yes he would."

"He's not that crazy."

"Oh yes he is." Jeff persistently nodded, though at that point he hoped he was wrong and that was just his thoughts talking, but he couldn't deny himself the possibility.

"That is troubling." the Doctor admitted, both at Jeff's adamant responses and at the fact that it seemed to be true, or more at the fact that he was leaning towards believing its credibility.

"Oh yeah." Jeff nodded again, "He'll find a way to die in a way that would give him the ability, and me being me, I can imagine a couple gruesome possibilities. Either way, I think you should get them back and get back here ASAP, for our sake."

"I'll try to do that." the Doctor nodded before leaving, left feeling uneasy.

Soon after leaving Jeff and the unconscious Albedo alone with the seven ponies, an eerie quiet enveloped the room. Jeff's eyes darted around the library a couple times, Rarity was resting, her leg up on a pillow, the others each in their own way trying to process all the newly gained information, but to his surprise the blue coated pegasus was throwing worried glances again and again towards Albedo, unable to help how his personality is and to sate his curiosity he walked over, discreetly and quietly enough as to not raise any questions.

"So what's exactly up with you Dashie?"

"H-huh, what do you mean?" Rainbow blurted out her question, still not completely comfortable with her nickname amongst her friends being used by Jeff... But how she has come to know him, she knew it would be quite futile to attempt to convince him otherwise.

"C'mon, I wasn't born yesterday. It's obvious you're worried 'bout somethin'." Jeff shrugged, "Wish I knew what though." he grinned, much to the discomfort of the pegasus. Her face practically screamed her thoughts though.

"I just... _We've_ been through a lot recently."

"Or so I've heard." Jeff nodded, "An evil version of the Doc, eh? I suppose it's not that far off of an idea." Jeff wasn't paying attention but Rainbow's face clearly showed fear, or a feeling close to it at the simple thought process of his.

"Yeah, but the point is, even with all of that... As soon as... As soon as you two showed up, you fixed everything. _He _fixed everything. Without any consequences or anything. Without any stupid deal, without expecting anything in return. It all just feels like a bad, _bad_ dream y'know?"

Jeff let out a short but honest laugh, "Yeah, yeah... I know, believe me." his response surprised the pegasus.

Rainbow sighed, locked eyes with Jeff for a brief moment then looked at the floor, "Of course the lost won't come back... But with everything back to how it was before... It's so surreal." the blue coated pegasus sighed, burying her face in her front hooves, "And on top of it all, this guy did it for a buncha strangers without batting an eyelid."

"Yeah, look, usually this is the time when they give the cliché talk about how he did it cause anyone woulda done it... But he's a little different." Jeff sighed, "I spent four months with the dude, and that was enough to realize that. He wouldn't admit it no matter what happened, but in a way, this is him trying to atone for all the shit he did back when he wasn't exactly 100% there. I still think he genuinely tries to help wherever he can, but he probably thinks he can only accept himself if he continues to do all this... That's why he keeps pushing himself. I mean sure, he can't die an' all, but look at him, he never understands that he needs rest." he proceeded to shrug, "Then again, pot calling the kettle black, I'm not too different. Sometimes I even wonder how _this_ me is even sane anymore." he looked to his right seeing Rainbow raising an eyebrow to his last statement, "Nevermind that." he waved his hand dismissively, then let out a sigh, "I'm sure he actually wanted to help you all, I don't doubt that... But no matter how bad it sounds, or how much of an asshole it makes me or probably himself feel, I'm also sure that this is his way of working towards a redemption of sorts. I dunno though, he's never really open with us about that." he let out a sigh.

Rainbow looked at Jeff then turned her attention to the one on the ground in front of her, then her thoughts flashed towards the Doctor, "Ha, I'm sure I know someone like that myself." she joked lightly.

Jeff let out a short chuckle before briefly turning around to look at someone, "If you really want, I won't stop you from watching him, suit yourself." he stood up with a shrug "Just keep your distance, for your own sake." he added ominously and walked over to the pink pony.

"Look, I know this really isn't the optimal time..." he started, catching Pinkie's attention, "But do you think I could get something to eat around here?" he coughed awkwardly, "I know you guys aren't exactly a fan of meat like us, so really anything you can offer me is fine."

"O-oh sure!" she nodded in surprise, somewhat lifting her mood, to Jeff's surprise she seemed the least bit or not at all bothered by his face, "I could probably whip up something in Sugarcube Corner if you want."

"Sure. That'd be nice." Jeff smiled before pulling his bandana over his mouth, and his hoodie over his head, then remembering that he still had the cloaking device he pressed a button on it, returning to his ponified form, "Don't really wanna stand out after what happened." he added silently as he followed the pink mare out the doors of the library, finding himself out in the repaired Ponyville with all the tents having vanished from the outskirts. 'Guess they really are going... Wonder what the whole story is here? Maybe we'll ask later.' he shrugged as the two walked over to the bakery. On the way he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby patch of ice on the ground, 'Just smile to keep the pain away, huh?' he thought before turning to follow the pink pony.

_**Two hours later**_

_**Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**Albedo**_

The Galvan woke up with a splitting headache to find himself in unknown surroundings, prompting him to take a look around. Upon confirming that he was in a sort of library he made to get up from his rest on the floor but the sudden pang of pain in his head prevented him from doing so. Realizing that attempting again would likely provide the same or a similar result in his current state, he let out a sigh and reluctantly laid his head back down on the floor, this time taking a more detailed look around. He took note of the large wall of books of differing ages and quality on his left, acknowledging that this truly was a different world, since he did not know any of the titles. The library itself seemed to be the inside of a large and sturdy oak tree if he had to guess, though guessing the type of tree was helped by the appearance of the giant letters again. The alien noted a staircase not too far in front of him, going both up and down surprisingly. Then he noticed the white coated unicorn resting her recovering leg and sleeping soundly, in a rather peculiar pose if he had to add... but she was the only one other than him currently in the library, the others seem to have had left.

'Just how much time has passed I wonder?'

'_Roughly two hours._' Death responded without delay, his voice sounding relieved, and somewhat happy, '_You really knocked yourself out here my friend. I was beginning to get worried._'

Albedo chuckled silently, 'That may be so. I apologize for worrying you dear friend. It seems I do not yet know my own limits. I suppose that many transformations and consequent evolutions would take a toll on my mind...' he let out a sigh, 'Perhaps such reckless behavior is what caused my brains to start failing on me in the first place.'

'_Whilst that _is_ likely part of the reason for those happenings, I feel I should clarify that I am as much at fault as you here. My powers are much too strong for mortal beings to handle, and you got thrust into the middle of it all, it is honestly a wonder you are still sane._'

'Haha, I guess I became kind of immune to losing it as Benjamin would say it... I already did a while ago.' Albedo sorrowfully looked at the ceiling, "Do not blame yourself for anything my friend," he said out loud, "None of us had any say in how things had played out, we must adapt to it and continue... After all, we shall be around until the end of it all."

'_Albedo..._'

"No, no, you are right. Enough with these depressing thoughts, let us instead worry where everyone is."

'_Oh no need for that._'

"Hm? What, pray tell, do you mean?"

'_Jeffrey has gone with the pink one to sate his hunger. The one named Doctor on the other hand has apparently taken the large group of humans here back to their own world, the other ponies likely followed Jeffrey along if I were to guess._'

"I see. Thank you for that." Albedo nodded, mused for a second then let out a soft chuckle, "At least Jeffrey seems the least bothered by how things are going, same old, same old."

At that moment the door to the library opened up, but Albedo not wanting to risk another sharp pain traveling through his head did not turn to look. Then slowly but surely he saw four chestnut colored hooves appear in his cone of vision.

The owner of said appendages let out a short chuckle, "I see you're awake again." he commented, "That was quite a stunt you have pulled I must say."

"Add it to the list." Albedo laughed, prompting the equine to do the same, "Have you just gotten back?" he asked, still avoiding moving his eyes too much.

"Indeed." the Doctor nodded, "I'm surprised you're up so fast."

"What do you mean?" this time however he forced himself to look at the stallion.

"Hm? I left a couple minutes ago had I not?" the Doctor asked, a worried expression slowly creeping onto his face. An overarching sense of dread to accompany it.

"_Doctor, you said you were leaving to take the humans back to their home around two hours ago._" Death spoke up through Albedo's mouth, still bringing discomfort to the Time Lord... but the utter dread that finally settled in soon after replaced it quite hastily.

"Something did not allow me to come back at the desired time..?" he asked from no one in particular. However at his rather silent question Albedo's eyes went wide, causing him to look at him in shock, "What is-"

"This is terrible!" he shouted, quickly getting up and hastily reaching for his head because of yet another pang of pain, and at the same time waking Rarity up with his emotional shouting, "Headache be damned we do not have any time!" he snapped as he ran towards the door, for the first time in the past five months surprised that his superhuman speed did not kick in, he was truly fatigued. 'Now of all times!'

"W-what is it?!" the Doctor couldn't help but ask.

"There is only one thing I know of that would be capable of altering even your ship's path." Albedo shuddered as he locked eyes with the chestnut stallion for about four seconds before speeding off after relaying the ominous message, the Doctor put two and two together soon after.

"Oh no." he said in disbelief as he too sped out the door, leaving a rather confused unicorn to scream his name as the door closed behind him.

_**Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**Jeff**_

_**10 minutes earlier**_

"Y'know, seeing these things on screen never really made them look appealing." Jeff commented, his large mouth currently stuffed with at least four muffins, as he held up a fifth one and commented before stuffing it into his face forcefully and swallowing all five pieces right after, "But in front of me, I could eat at least four times this much." what he himself seemed to not take note of was that where his mouth was 'extended' regenerated in a way that made it as if his mouth was like that from the start. Jeff didn't take note of his own jaw altering on him. The girls however were bearing witness to the birth of a cookie eating monster. For the most part his mouth worked normally, but apparently when he needed to, he would be able to open it far wider than any human being. 'Is it since I became this Undying or whatever that my appetite is always this huge? Or did I just get hooked on to food with Albedo's gang?' he wondered in his thoughts not even noticing the strange gazes of the girls around him.

"Yeah, we noticed." Rainbow deadpanned in disbelief, briefly glancing to her right at the three towers of dirty plates left behind by the hungry immortal, still actively trying to disregard the image in her thoughts of his widely opened mouth, "When was the last time you've eaten dude?"

"This morning, why?" Jeff answered nonchalantly.

Rainbow Dash actually wanted to be a cartoon character at that point, just for the sheer possibility of being able to drop her jaw in a comical fashion, 'Is this guy's stomach an endless void?' she couldn't help but ask of herself.

"So, all of these events happened in four months to you?" the lavender coated unicorn asked with intrigue.

"Yup, we've been to some pretty weird places." Jeff nodded, scarfing down another batch of pastries, "Life really hasn't been dull since I went with Albedo." even then he was surprisingly careful to only talk when his mouth was not full.

"I can tell." Twilight nodded, "If you don't mind me asking... What was your life before that? After... your brother."

Jeff put down a sandwich and let out a short sigh... then the faces of several corrupt government officials screaming in terror flashed through his mind before a knife plunged into their body, only to be followed by maniacal laughter. He looked at his pure white hands and sighed again before looking into the curious eyes of the lavender coated unicorn. At that point the other five looked at him in intrigue as well before he sighed again, as a reporter's face popped up this time, before quickly wiping the thought of her. "I did some bad shit girls." he suddenly said, not bothering to change his own speech, "Probably not bad Doc levels of bad, but things you shouldn't imagine, aight?" he finished in a soft, quiet but unintentional growl, making Twilight realize she might have stepped on a landmine.

"I-I see, I'm-"

"No, no, don't start apologizing." Jeff quickly raised his hands defensively, "It's just a touchy subject." he then let out an audibly sad chuckle, "Maybe it will disappear in a couple centuries... Who am I kidding..?" he let out another sigh before realizing how far the mood has fallen again by his doing, but then he noticed a certain white haired boy and a chestnut stallion running towards the establishment they were in.

In the following brief seconds, excitement flashed across his face until he noticed the worried look both of them had on their faces and then his thoughts started running. Albedo should not be able to get up yet, and yet he's running, at the highest speed he's probably capable of currently, towards them. The Doctor should have returned a lot sooner with how the TARDIS works... These thoughts ran through his head like a slideshow and then his thoughts returned to the looks they were showing. That exact second, his eyes went wide, surprising the others.

"Get away from me!" he suddenly shouted. "Now!"

"Wha-"

"No time! Just do-" however it was too late, the swirling blue portal opened up in the middle of Sugarcube Corner just wide enough to be as wide as the inside of the building itself. All seven of them were sucked in without any warning, disappearing and leaving behind only the plates. As soon as the ancient alien duo entered the building the portal just about closed before Albedo reached through... however he was not fast enough in his current condition, and instead of traversing through it, the portal closed instead... taking his outreached arm with it.

"**NO!**" Albedo angrily snapped, not the least bit bothered by the excruciating pain he must have been feeling right now. "No, not now! Aaaargh!" he snapped, punching a nearby table with enough force to split it neatly and surprisingly clean in two, much to the Doctor's horror. "Why now?!"

"Calm down!" the Doctor shouted but then he took note of his lack of right arm, "You're not thinking straight."

"Of course I'm not thinking straight!" Albedo snapped, "That little _pest_ did it again when I couldn't be nearby! And this time, it took people who are precious to me. _**ME**_!"

"_**Calm yourself already!**_"Death snapped in his Grim Reaper voice, one raspy, ethereal and powerful in full agreement with the Time Lord.

'Using contractions now are you?' the Doctor noted, "I agree, you must not let the other one take control again. Senseless anger is of no help to us now."

Albedo let his shoulders fall as he let out a long sigh, "You are right, absolutely, I apologize." he suddenly reached for his head, another pang of pain shooting through it as if he was just struck by lightning. "I am not in the right headspace for any of this."

"Right, you need to calm down and then we can go look for them." the Doctor said with a small soothing smile, trying his best to sound convincing but at the same time hoping to calm himself as well, however Albedo's remaining fist just clenched in anger.

"_That's_ precisely the problem Doctor." he said slowly, putting emphasis on each word in his anger hoping the other alien would get it.

The Doctor looked at him with a confused gaze for a couple seconds before his eyes went wide in realization, "No..."

"Yes, indeed." Albedo nodded, turning around to face the stallion only to show that in his anger he was making the most pained expression the Time Lord has seen in this short time of knowing him, "Since it closed, we now have no way of even knowing where they ended up. Not one trace."

"You mean to tell me that those seven... are out in the multiverse somewhere?" the Doctor had to repeat for his own sake as the horror of their situation settled in, "Without us knowing..."

Albedo had no idea why, but in his frustration he started laughing, "This is just like my luck... Why did I let him come with me?"

"Look, wallowing in self-pity is not going to help us in this situation." the Time Lord deadpanned.

"I know, I just felt that if I did not say that then it would haunt me." Albedo forced a grin before going through the doors beckoning the Doctor to follow him, "It helps to motivate me if anything. Come, we have much to do."

"How exactly are you planning on finding them?!"

"How I always have done Doctor. Through trial and error." Albedo declared, "We keep going through the portals until we meet in the middle, because quite frankly, we cannot really do anything else right now."

"That will take ages!"

"Propose a better idea then!" Albedo snapped back in apparent frustration before sighing, "I know someone who can help us narrow the search down, but there is really nothing more we can do."

"...Alright." the Time Lord sighed and looked at Albedo, "I'll choose to believe you on this one."

"Thank you." Albedo showed a small smile, remembering from Jeff's explanation how much it actually meant for the Doctor to listen to somebody else, "Let us go then."

_**Meanwhile **_

_**The Forest of Death, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

_**Jeff**_

The portal opened wide above a clearing in an absurdly large forest that otherwise seemed all too dark and gloomy. The seven reluctant travelers it brought along fell from a considerable height, save for the blue coated pegasus and the lavender coated unicorn who, respectively, immediately took to the air and caught some with her magic and just about helped everyone land safely. Taking a moment to catch their breaths, and to calm down Fluttershy, the next step was mapping out their surroundings.

"Oh, this is just great! Just terrific!" Jeff snapped, clapping his hands together in a vain attempt at helping himself calm down eventually leading to him raising his arms up in the air in frustration. "We're in a goddamn forest in the middle of who knows where!"

"T-that was the portal?" Fluttershy meekly asked, shyly looking around as well, one of her forehooves still on her chest.

"Yeah, that was it alright." Jeff nodded in response. "I saw Albedo and the Doc running towards us moments before, but when I put two and two together before I could even so much as push you away, we were through." he let out a frustrated sigh as he ruffled his own hair. No one noticed yet that he seemed to be twitching occasionally. "Oh, and Pinkie Pie has an arm on her shoulder." he added nonchalantly.

The pink mare turned to her left in surprise to see a pale skinned right forearm dangling from it, cleanly separated from its source. It barely took three seconds for all of them save for Jeff and Rainbow, the pegasus instead looking disgusted, to scream at the top of their lungs.

"W-what?! H-how did that-" Derpy was about to ask, covering her mouth in shock as she took to the air.

"That's Albedo's arm." Jeff shrugged, "If he wasn't already a physical wreck, he would be here with us now, but instead we get an arm." he twitched slightly again.

"That's an image I didn't need in my mind." Twilight shuddered.

"That's what all that was? You telling us to get away?" Rainbow asked with a sigh, hoping to change the topic from the now discarded appendage "Haah, guess we're really tired after all... _that_." she turned towards her friends, "Are you girls alright?"

"We've been in worse situations before, haven't we?" Twilight smiled, trying her best to keep a positive attitude, still not completely settled down from what happened in their world either. This certainly wasn't helping her mental state.

"I 'spose so." Applejack nodded in response, still somewhat sluggish because of the spores still working hard and helping her heal her burn wounds.

"Except we literally don't know what the hell to expect!" Jeff chipped in with a snark, turning suddenly as his left eyebrow twitched again in quick succession, "For all we know, the goddamn trees could start trying to eat us any moment now!" he snapped making Fluttershy immediately retract an extended hoof directed at a nearby tree.

"D-dude, are you okay?" Rainbow asked slowly, now noticing the obvious twitching.

"OF COURSE I'M NOT OKAY!" Jeff practically shouted making the pegasus reel back in surprise, "We're in a different world." he started, his eyes going wide with one of his irises along with the pupils inside inexplicably shrinking, "Just the seven of us." he cocked his head slightly, occasionally twitching from a stoic expression to a psychotic smile further enhanced by his permanent one, "I'm the only one capable enough to fight." he put a hand to his forehead as his whole upper torso leaned back almost inhumanely, "I'm all alone in a different world without Albedo!" he shouted as he suddenly snapped back up, now standing straight, "Nothing is okay!" he added as he turned towards the girls, his expression enough to put the fear of god into them, "_**I'm fucking scared man.**_" he calmly added before breaking out into a laughter.

'G-get yourself together!' his younger self's voice rang out in his mind as he suddenly stopped, 'You can't lose it here! N-not now... Y-you're the only protection they have." he seemed to indicate to the group of quadrupeds, making Jeff turn once again towards them, 'Pull yourself together. What would Albedo say if he saw you like this?'

"N-no..." he said out loud as he sat down clutching his head, "No, no, no, no, no." he repeated, "He can't. I'm dependable, I am. I'm not the same as when I left," he said between unconscious smiles, his face clearly showing his psychotic side, "I changed, I'm not the same." he repeated over and over.

'You are here to protect.' his younger self continued, 'Protect those who only have this life.' he added, 'Not take it from them... Okay?' he meekly asked.

"Y-yeah. You're right." he nodded, as he turned his attention back to the girls again, his expression back to its normal state... Well, as 'normal' as Jeff's face could be. "I'm sorry." he suddenly said upon realizing the looks the girls were giving him, "No, that isn't worth jack." he shook his head before putting on his bandana, the pattern of the lower jaw on it hiding all of his smile, "I told you my past isn't pretty-"

"Dude, are you okay?" Rainbow repeated the previous question, forcefully shaking her head a couple times and flying closer and at the same time greatly surprising the former murderer. "You're tearing up."

Jeff slowly reached for his face, as on only the left side of his cheek he could now feel tears flowing, he smiled gently, "I am now." he added with a small huff, "My little inside voice calmed me down enough." he added, pointing to his head again "I... I just never really did this whole dimension thing without Albedo, I think... I think I didn't really realize how scared I was from all of this. Hell, I didn't even know I could get scared." he locked his blue eyes with Rainbow's magenta ones, and pointed at his head with his other hand as well, "I'm not exactly alright in here if you didn't already gather that."

"Yeah, I think we got that." Rainbow grinned with a shrug before putting a hoof on Jeff's shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll keep you in check." she added before raising an eyebrow, "Or at least try, you seem to be trying your best as well." she mused.

"Thank you. Really. To be honest I don't exactly know what happened." Jeff admitted, "When I left my original world, and entered Albedo's one... I changed, maybe subconsciously, maybe not only. Something about that world is strange." he looked at the girls again, "I guess it comes as no surprise that the past I was dreading of telling you involves m- y'know, that word. I still can't say it." he then looked at his hands, clenching his right fist, "I didn't want to say it directly to Albedo, but I think he knows. _I_ know I've changed. I'm still not completely okay, but I'm definitely better than before. Well, either way 'okay' in my case doesn't really cut it." he awkwardly rubbed his head, "I guess what I wanna say is 'thank you for believing in me' even if you only knew me on short term." he looked away, "Not exactly everybody acts friendly towards me, if you get me."

"Ha, like I said, no worries. We have a lotta weird friends, you're just an addition." Rainbow laughed with a shrug, the others smiling and chuckling as well, eventually Jeff following in as well, the previous sour mood having been lifted, but then she frowned. "Wait, hold the phone, what exactly did you mean by us not being able to fight?" she frowned.

"I _know _you guys can hold your own Dash." Jeff clarified with a small chuckle, "But this is an unknown world, and you guys just came out of a nasty little war... From what I've learned from Albedo, you guys are supposed to stay in the sidelines unless absolutely necessary in a situation like this. Leave the fighting to me... Besides, I can't die, I'm sure I can take a beating, so you guys can dip during that or whatever."

"My, how virtuous of you." Twilight rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Just so you know, I'm not about to let anyone be a sacrifice here."

"Look Twiley, unlike you, I have been swallowed by unkillable worms, zapped by lightning... twice, crushed to death by a boulder, fallen into a volcano, slashed to pieces and ripped in half. I think I'm quite durable." he pouted as Twilight's and the other's eyes struggled to stay in their sockets.

"Man, what the f-" Dash was about to say before Jeff interrupted him.

"I'm what you guys would call insanely reckless. Also, you don't get to swear. My ears need to remember your pure side." he declared in quick succession, slightly irritating the pegasus.

"Haah, fine." the blue pegasus let out a lengthy sigh with a roll of her eyes, "Do you even have a weapon or something?"

"Hah!" Jeff grinned, though it wasn't visible, "Of course I do!" he triumphantly declared as he pulled out a medium sized kitchen knife from the hoodie's connected front pocket, to which the others simply raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"A kitchen knife." Derpy awkwardly voiced their shared concern.

"How... effective." Fluttershy struggled to find the nicest words she could.

"Oh, all of you nonbelievers just shut up!" Jeff snapped, "This lil' guy has been with me for a while." he added before turning to a nearby tree and doing a simple slashing motion in front of it rather rapidly.

"What was that supp-" however Pinkie Pie's words remained in her throat as the tree fell down soon after, a cut going all the way through it, creating an audible rebound of sound. "Alright, that works." she declared as her voice lost all emotion due to the sheer surprise.

"Knew you would come around." Jeff grinned triumphantly, putting his arms on his hips, "Now, what say you we get out of this depressing forest?"

"I'm in." Rainbow shrugged, "Maybe we can figure out where the hell we are too." she grumbled to herself soon after, "If only I could just go up and check."

"Yeah, I appreciate that you didn't." Jeff chuckled, "You might have been shot down for all we know."

"Exactly." Rainbow nodded, but still mumbled. "Still, let's go find out where we are."

"Here's hoping." Twilight sighed as the group set off with Jeff at the front. 'Then again, Albedo and Jeff have a lot to answer to if we ever get home.' she added in her thoughts, 'That scene from before... It seems like he's back in control again but what caused that in the first place? Just how dependent is he of Albedo? Maybe the Doctor could- Hold on, those two remained in Equestria? Then how are we-'

"Twilight, it's best not to think about that right now." Jeff chipped in greatly surprising the unicorn, "Otherwise you'll start acting like how I did just now as well."

"You are just a bundle of joy you know that?" Rainbow scoffed, "Now I'm thinking about it too."

"Hey, if it's any consolation, you are takin' it a helluva lot better than your animated counterpart would have." Jeff shrugged, "You guys have changed, now if that's a good thing or not, is really not my place to say." he winked, referring to his earlier episode "On the other hand, this forest is starting to look really familiar, which is really fucking creepy to me but either way we have two options here because of that."

"Either you two were here before." Derpy surmised to be one of them.

"Or you've seen the place in a show or something similar." Rainbow added.

"Nice, both correct!" Jeff chuckled, "Let's see which one of them is right, eh?" however after a couple of steps, to the sheer horror of all the ponies present, from the nearby gigantic trees an enormous centipede crawled out, and in a matter of seconds severed Jeff's body at the hips, leaving his lover torso to flop forward like a lifeless mannequin. "I guess I know where we are!" Jeff shouted before being swallowed.

"We're runnin'!" Applejack shouted immediately almost as an order, "Someone bring the legs, we need to go!"

"Ugh, I'm so not happy about this." Rainbow shuddered as she picked up the legs and started flying, Derpy almost having to drag Twilight away, "Nor about leaving him behind."

"He was confident!" Pinkie chipped in, "And even though this is super horroristic and surreal and I don't know why I'm so okay with it, the knife worked too!" she added as she, instead of running, was bouncing forward.

"I told you I'm not leaving anyone behind!" Twilight snapped, ready to run back only for her eyes to widen in surprise.

"And I told you to leave the fighting to me!" Jeff snapped from behind them surprising each of them, however as they turned around, save for Twilight, the sight they saw could have easily fit into a horror movie, or a really gory comedy. Jeff was currently close to keeping up with them by only using his arms, whilst the giant centipede with a rather large wound on its side was following him straight. "Why won't you just drop dead, goddammit?! And I just had this hoodie cleaned too!" he snapped as he briefly turned back to shout at the centipede. "Dash, could you pass me my legs? This is totally the most normal sentence I have said today."

Rainbow without an ounce of hesitation threw the lower torso in Jeff's way, who then ran over them and stopping for about three seconds stood there to align himself with it. His held back regeneration kicked in almost instantly and his legs were back in place, surprisingly none of his clothes ripped apart. He then promptly continued running for his life. "It would have been bad if I grew a second set of legs." he shuddered silently.

"Uuuh, Jeff, we have a fence!" Derpy shouted back, catching the former killer's attention.

"Over it!" he shouted without hesitation, now certain of where they were. "Then we're safe!"

"On it!" Rainbow nodded hastily, grabbing a hold of Applejack, and lifting her over in a flash. She intended to grab the pink bundle of energy as well however to her surprise she easily cleared the fence with a jump. Derpy flew over along with Fluttershy whilst Twilight teleported herself to the other side of it. Jeff, utilizing his surprising superhuman strength also cleared the fence rather easily, the wounded centipede after him slammed into it with full force. The fence to everyone's surprise held up without so much as a scratch. "Can't that thing just climb over?" the blue pegasus asked, slightly worried.

"See the charm things on the fence? They're there to keep these things in." Jeff explained, "So no worries it can't really come over. Well not alive at least." he let out a lengthy sigh as he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath, "Phew, not the type of exercise I like doing in my spare time that's for sure." then he grimaced, "And now I'm covered in centipede juices and my own blood... Again. Ugh." he shuddered, "I need to go wash up before we get on with this."

"I take it you know where we are?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, this whole forest confirms it." Jeff nodded, "Not the most pleasant world, but we're not in any imminent danger... as long as we're on this side of the fence."

"That's... reassuring."

"I do try." Jeff chuckled, "Anyhow, I'm gonna go find a pond or something be back in a minute, try to not be conspicuous. Also if the blood doesn't come out I'm counting on you Twilight." and with that he just sped off in a direction.

"Alright, alright." the lavender unicorn let out an amused chuckle, somewhat worried in the back of her mind that she would be laughing at that comment.

"This is gonna be a long day." Rainbow however just groaned.

_**Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

_**20 minutes after the portal closed**_

"So, you mean to tell me... After we have spent the last twenty minutes searching for it... You have _lost _the TARDIS?" Albedo asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, frustration evident on his face. Though he was slowly recovering from his fatigue.

"Oi, I swear I left her behind here!" the Doctor snapped back, "How should I have known that this portal of yours would do this?!"

"Granted, I did not think it would affect time ships." Albedo nodded in agreement, "And across this big of a distance to boot. In that case- Hmm, what is it that Jeffrey said was possible? Putting the ship out of sync, was it?"

"Yes, I can make it disappear like that, but you saw I tried the sonic and nothing happened."

"Yes, but perhaps if your ship did indeed get affected by the rips in space the portal had caused, then your normal sonic device would, in theory, not be able to help recover it." Albedo surmised, "As such, since this appears to be a problem caused by my world, I suppose we should try to fix it by my world's methods as well."

"Why do I not like the sound of that?"

"Come now, we shall not do anything questionable... mostly."

The Doctor let out a sigh but reluctantly, for the lack of better options, nodded, "Alright, what did you have in mind exactly?"

"Well, first and foremost I advise we head out so as to not disturb Miss Rarity any further." Albedo smiled gently, pointing at the sleeping unicorn, "We must have given her quite a fright before. Thankfully, in a figurative sense, she seemed to be quite fatigued to stay awake and worry, explaining that would have been quite a 'doozy'."

"Indeed." the Doctor nodded, "Anyhow, I agree. Better head outside then."

_**Outside the Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.**_

"Right then, so-" however before the Doctor could inquire any further a flash of red light next to him caused him to almost instinctively cringe. "Oh dear." he quietly said as he turned around. In the white-haired alien's place stood a tall humanoid creature, its back was black with wide red lines running through it, whilst its chest and front was the reverse, the same hourglass symbol was neatly on its chest as the red lines converged to a circle forming what looked to be an eye on his head. "Oh?"

"This is a Galvanic Mechamorph." Albedo explained upon noticing the inquisitive gaze the Time Lord was giving him, his eye glowing with each word spoken "They are artificial beings of living metal which are capable of merging with any technology and if necessary improve them."

"Hm, quite intriguing." the Time Lord mused, "Your world just keeps on surprising me."

"I would say statues that only move when you do not look at them are just as interesting."

"Touché." the Doctor let out a chuckle before he raised an eyebrow, "Hold on, did you say this species' name was _Galvanic_ Mechamorph? And that they are... artificial?" he asked, remembering the name of Albedo's species without trouble.

"Yes, indeed." Albedo nodded. "The creation of the species came about by a complete accident. Some scientists including my... foster father, were working on making our planet's moon inhabitable, however the project went farther than intended and this species was the result. Nowadays they are peaceful neighbors."

"Creating an entire species on accident..." the Doctor marveled, "I think I have to give your race its title as well."

Albedo forced a small chuckle, "I suppose that's a viable reaction." he looked at the ground briefly.

The Doctor almost could feel the mood around them change, and then that specific phrase the Galvan used popped back into his head, 'Foster father..? Even earlier today when sharing information, he did not share much about his own personal background... It would be quite hypocritical of me to dig into it further.' he thought, but then a thought flashed in his mind, 'Jeff said that the project head on that 'Omnitrix' device was called Azmuth... Could it be?' he mused before turning back towards Albedo, "So, what's our next step?" he instead focused the Galvan's attention elsewhere.

"Let us, or more precisely _me_, try out your sonic device now shall we?"

"Ah, I see. I believe it's worth a shot." the Doctor shrugged, before frowning "At this point I'm ready for anything as long as we can get them back." Signaled by a mutual nod, Albedo, in the form of the new alien creature catching the Time Lord's intrigue, immediately merged with the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver. "My, how interesting. Where does all that extra mass go?" he wondered out loud.

"_It allows the creatures to improve on the currently possessed technology as I have stated. Now then how about a demonstration?_" Albedo's mechanical voice resounded from the device which soon began floating on its own, "_Let us see what this is capable of._"

For the next couple of seconds the Doctor heard his screwdriver turn on and off indicated by its signature sound as the light soon turned from the blue to the same red as its body was now covered in. Soon after this the sound began to play without pause. Eventually the device enlarged and some small legs protruded from three sides of its casing to make sure it stood in place, the front growing wider to about as wide as a saucepan.

"What exactly are you doing?" the Doctor worriedly looked on, "No, rather than that, I hope these changes are not permanent." he frowned.

Albedo just chuckled, "_Worry not Doctor, as soon as a Mechamorph leaves the possessed technology, it returns to its base state. Now as to answer your question, I am currently trying to use the most of this neat little device's capabilities to their fullest in locating your ship._" he explained, "_More specifically I am searching through time and space._"

"Time and space?! With my sonic? Just how much did you upgrade it?"

"_All I did was raise its initial capabilities my friend, but yes I surmise that if the portal did in fact affect this TARDIS of yours, then it is likely it could have been sent elsewhere by dimensional interference... Assuming it works even remotely similar to a time manipulator back in my home world._"

"At this point I'm not even surprised that you have one of those." the Time Lord chuckled, "Alright, let's see what you can find then."

Albedo kept searching, merged with the Sonic Screwdriver, for the next fifteen minutes, in almost utter silence. The only noise being the occasional sound of the people of the village, and the beeps of the modified device. The Doctor was worrying and on the edge of his imaginary seat, right up to the point when Albedo suddenly exclaimed, "_Finally!_"

"Did you find it?!"

"_It appears so. It would seem my theory was somewhat right._" Albedo declared, "_The TARDIS _is_ indeed here, yet it appears to be in what looks to be a parallel dimension?_"

"Was that a question?"

"_Naturally._" the Mechamorph responded without an ounce of hesitation,"_I am picking up its location right here in front of us, yet it is obviously nowhere near us._"

"Can you call it back?"

"_Of course, I should be able to. Give me just a moment._" the sound resounded again, this time continuously, for a couple of seconds before the TARDIS once again began materializing in front of the duo. "_We should look into this more when we are not scrunching for time. Hopefully no one caught wind of the TARDIS itself, assuming it was not hidden in this other world._"

"You're right, this seems more than troublesome." the Doctor sighed, "For now however let's set off. You said you had someone you knew that can help?"

"That is right." Albedo nodded, letting go of the Sonic Screwdriver and subsequently transforming back, "That is if I can help your TARDIS coordinate itself to my dimension."

"Shouldn't be too hard if you have a clear image." the Doctor fidgeted, "The feature itself is quite new, but it worked for us so far."

"Excellent! Let us be off then!"

"After you." the Time Lord smiled, somewhat disappointed that he couldn't get the same response to the interior of the ship from the Galvan since they have met in the middle of it, but then he remembered that he never really registered it, or at least the Doctor did not know about it, and yet:

"My, it really catches me off guard every time that this is bigger on the inside!" Albedo smiled warmly, "Your technology is quite impressive."

"You're one to talk." the Doctor raised a mocking eyebrow before the two shared a good-natured laugh. "That panel over there is the one that reads your thoughts, so I propose we not waste any more time."

"Agreed, let us set off." the white-haired teen nodded as he almost instinctively knew what to do with the foreign looking panel, "My this is quite nicely made."

"The TARDIS came up with it, praise her not me." the Doctor chuckled.

"I suppose I shall." Albedo grinned, "Mind helping me out with this?" he asked, turning towards the control panel, to the Doctor's surprise, not once finding the fact that the ship was alive weird. A small hum resounded around the control room, almost as if the ship did indeed respond, "My, thank you." the Doctor went wide eyed at the interaction before the ship started moving through space again.

_**Half an hour later**_

_**Main Hall, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

Ben and Kai were walking around the large colony shelter, as Kai was showing Ben how everything looked and for the most part where everything was. All the while the two were enjoying each other's company and generally speaking about things they had to catch up on. The only real disturbance in all of it being that excruciatingly long 45 minutes where Arnas and Etala found them and would not leave them be until Ben finally had enough and threatened to make jumping rope out of them as a Tetramand. Ben was introduced to most of the people Kai worked with in rotation, and eventually he did get to do what he wanted after reuniting with Kai. Surprising his cousin. Suffice to say, he got the reaction he was expecting. The couple was currently in the main hall following those events, heading towards yet another wing of the large shelter.

"Ha! The look on her face was still the best thing today!" Ben grinned.

"Ben knock it off!" Kai gently shoved him, but she was in the process of holding back her own laughter as well.

"C'mon, you know you loved it too!" Ben laughed, then looked around putting emphasis to it by opening his arms wide, "Oh boy, this place sure is big."

"You're telling me, I sometimes get lost here still." Kai admitted, "It's surprising how eas-"

"Get down!" Ben suddenly shouted much to Kai's surprise, but soon after she felt herself pulled to the ground, Ben protecting her from something.

That something in question was a blue police phone box suddenly appearing out of thin air in front of them at a tremendous speed and hurdling at the ground of the shelter, bouncing a couple times and landing against a wall completely flipped upside down, and shortly after falling to its side.

"What the hell?" was all Ben could ask at the sight as the phone box's doors opened.

"Just how tough are your dimension's borders?!" a voice Ben did not recognize snapped from inside in audible frustration.

"Hey! Why are you blaming me?! It was my first time as well!" Ben's voice rang out from the box soon after, making Ben break out in a cold sweat.

Shortly after, the figure of Albedo quite literally plopped out of the box as some onlookers began to gather, landing face first on the ground. Following after him a quadruped animal jumped out of the box and Ben's eyes began to bug out. The animal in question, a horse... no a pony more like, began dusting off its blue suit, turned around and Ben could almost see its heart shatter at the sight of the blue phone box's current state.

"Look at what happened to my TARDIS!" he snapped as he reached for his head.

Albedo got himself up from the ground, completely not catching note of the people around them, just looking at the spaceship. "My, we certainly did a number on her." he then began to take a look of his surroundings, "And we are not even close to where I wanted to end up."

"_WHAT?!_" the Doctor snapped, a vein almost popping on his forehead in anger.

"No need to worry though, we _are_ in my dimension, just not where I wanted to end u-" he stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn around slowly to come face to face with Ben smiling at him with his eyes closed, but Albedo could tell from a mile away he was irritated, "Ah! Benjamin, how nice it is to see you!" he then looked behind him to notice the Navajo girl looking rather sheepish, "Ah, Kai as well! I hope you are having a great time." he winked at the girl as her eyes went wide in some sort of realization.

"Albedo." Ben said slowly.

"Yes, what is-"

"Albedo." Ben repeated in an irritated tone his grip on his shoulder tightening, as some beads of sweat made their way down from the Galvan's forehead.

"A-ah..." he said quietly, breaking out into a silent awkward chuckle, "H-how can I be of assistance?"

"Mind explaining what this whole scene was?" Ben asked calmly, not once opening his eyes which only reinforced Albedo's dread, as the Doctor just took to assessing the damage done to the TARDIS, and he almost began to cry shamelessly.

"Ah, well you see..."

"What is going on out here?!" Gwen's voice could be heard approaching the Main Hall from the direction of her office, arriving soon after in the company of Kevin and a large burly man, who Albedo recognized to be Paul from before, wearing a t-shirt matching his size and blue overalls with brown work boots complete with a baseball cap put on backwards.

"Oh boy, this will be a long day." Albedo sighed. "How about we move to a less crowded space and then we will explain everything? Eh, you know you want to!" he urged.

"How about you fix my TARDIS first, huh?" the Doctor sarcastically added, almost crossing his arms before remembering that if he did so he would fall over so instead he just glared at the Galvan.

"Oh, o-of course!" Albedo responded as he immediately transformed into a Tetramand and turned the ship right-side up with relative ease much to the Doctor's chagrin, then he turned into a Chronosapien and with a well-placed time bubble turned the ship back to its condition prior to experiencing the turbulence their travel had caused, "Is this acceptable?" he asked in an accent typical for a Chronosapien, and whilst he tried to remain calm, Ben could tell that for whatever reason he was quite nervous.

"Y-yes, thank you." the Doctor nodded in surprise, clapped his hooves together so the doors would close and then promptly put the spaceship out of sync, this time properly, and it disappeared from sight. Soon after him and Albedo left with Ben, Kai, Gwen and Kevin to discuss things in private, leaving a rather confused audience behind. Paul on his end however immediately defused the situation regarding the onlookers and knowing some details about Ben's current situation sent everyone away, but even he couldn't stop wondering what exactly this scene was.

'I'll just nag Gwendolyn about it later.' he shrugged as he left to do his current mechanic work that was put on hold because of the commotion.

_**Gwen's 'Office', Conference Room, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.**_

As the group entered the office space, everybody but Albedo and the Doctor took one side of the table whilst they took the one facing them. An eerie, at least for the alien duo, silence permeated the room around them as even the Doctor was beginning to grow anxious. As Gwen sat down she reached for her head and let out a pained sigh as the duo of aliens looked away from each other and the ones in front of them like children caught doing something bad.

"Where do we even start here?" she asked accompanied with a frustrated sigh.

"How about a greeting?" the Doctor suggested jokingly.

"Doctor, this is really not the time." Albedo sighed, though he was smiling at the idea.

"A man can try." he shrugged.

"Albedo, I have to agree with him on this." Ben pointed out, "Who _is_ he?"

"Oh, allow me then." the Doctor responded with a polite smile, "I'm known as the Doctor, I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. A planet from a rather different constellation, the constellation of Kasterborous, which... is not from this world."

"'Time Lord'?" Kevin asked with air quotation marks, "So wherever the hell you come from Time is controlled by ponies..?" his eyes went wide.

"No, this and that are completely unrelated." the Doctor chuckled despite the situation, "My current appearance is due to some special circumstances, however it would take quite a while to explain."

"Maybe not that long."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor couldn't help asking.

"First, I'm Ben. This is Gwen, my cousin, her boyfriend and my best friend Kevin, and my girlfriend Kai, hello Doctor." Ben promptly introduced everyone to the Doctor.

"Ah, so _you_ are Benjamin! Albedo has told me quite a lot about you and the device you bear." the Doctor smiled widely, "I must say I am amazed by the technology of this world!" he then suddenly deadpanned before coughing, "Now before I go off on another tangent, what did you have in mind?"

Ben however just grinned much to everyone's confusion, and just turned towards Albedo who seemed to catch on, "You wouldn't happen to know of a method would you?"

Albedo grinned at the crafty method his newfound enemy-turned-ally thought up to save time, "Actually." he held up a hand almost on impulse, "Could you help me out here?" he asked from seemingly no one as his left eye turned completely black.

"_Of course._" Death responded, he too having realized their little charade's meaning, as he raised their left hand and connected the minds of the four in front of them with theirs, "_I will now share our memories of the various conversations and events of the past day with you. But are you sure about this? You are still not fully recovered._"

"Go for it, the occasional headache I have gotten used to by now." Albedo nodded.

"Hey, what do you mean 'recovered'?!" Ben snapped, "What happened?"

"_Just a second Benjamin. It will all be clear to you soon enough._" Death answered as a brief line of blue energy coursed towards all of them, surprising most but Ben. "_There, that should be all that had happened this past couple of hours to us... Well hours in the time of the world we arrived at._"

What Death had shared with the four was mainly the memories of Albedo and the Doctor talking to each other, them spending most of the day in Equestria, learning about what had transpired in that world and by who. Albedo healing and fixing everybody at the cost of his own wellbeing... And the portal opening up and taking Jeff and the Doctor's friends with it. All so they could spare telling the story themselves as to not rob anyone of their times.

"A world full of pastel colored ponies." Kevin shuddered at the thought.

"I don't know Kevin, it seems like the best thing ever." Gwen commented honestly which to all seemed quite out of character, but given the situation not even Albedo commented on it.

"I... I lost Jeffrey." Albedo remorsefully declared.

"C'mon Albedo." Ben smiled, trying his best to cheer the alien up, but after how he himself was feeling earlier that day that was proving to be a troublesome task, "It wasn't your fault, besides if you two could get here on your own accord, then maybe the Doctor's ship thing could help you find them a lot easier now."

"Exactly!" the Doctor nodded, although he was not exactly pleased by the use of 'thing' referring to his TARDIS, "The trial run may have been the worst of its kind, but at least we determined that it is possible for the TARDIS to dimension travel to totally different worlds as well. All I had tried before were parallels to the one I now call home." he turned to Albedo, "We can find them!"

"See? That's the attitude you need to have more often!" Ben chuckled.

"Look who's talking." Albedo and Kai said in an eerie unison to shut Ben up, and in turn make them look at each other in shock before laughing. "What a depressive bunch us two are, eh Benjamin?" the alien chuckled.

"What are we gonna do with you two?" Kai asked jokingly, becoming more familiar to the fact that Albedo looked like her boyfriend, and now that most of their personality is roughly the same, the Navajo girl felt like she just learned about a brother she never knew Ben had.

"I suppose you just have to put up with our shenanigans for a bit longer." Albedo shrugged with a smile.

"So the reason the Doctor... 'regenerated' to this form, could also be because of our portal?" Ben asked.

"At this point that's the working theory yes." the Doctor nodded, "However that would mean it appeared in my world prior to its documented initial appearance here, in this world. According to all out information at least."

"Time travel, and anything related to it is just so damn confusing sometimes." Kevin grumbled.

"You took the words right out of my mouth young man." the Doctor nodded, "If we stick to this theory, then however terrifying the thought is, it is safe to say that this portal opens not just through tears in space but in time as well."

"Yes initially we just thought that the world's just have a different flow of time overall, but..." Albedo continued.

"That time with Jane and Kate when we met Jeff." Ben's eyes lit up, "They said you left that world two years before that, but you..."

"Yes, indeed. At first, I did not give it much thought, but now it seems more and more evident. The portal is opening wherever and _whenever_ in the multiverse it so pleases... And as it turned out it even interferes with other technology capable of doing the same."

"It sent my TARDIS to a parallel dimension to the one we were in."

"Whatever this thing is, it's way too high tech." Kevin added, "If it's artificial or anything like that... Than the one who made it either really has it out for the multiverse or."

"Or there is a reason behind its openings? Is that it?" Albedo mused.

"At this point it's just my theory to add to the table." Kevin shrugged, "Anyhow, I'd love to chat more, but I'm behind on some work so if you don't mind."

"No, of course!" Albedo nodded, "You go do your thing, we were the ones who messed up the schedule. Quite bombastically I might add."

"You came here to get Hope, didn't you?" Gwen guessed with a small smile.

"That was my intention yes." Albedo smiled, thankful but somewhat weirded out how Gwen seemed to know that information. One look at Ben and his face saying 'You get used to it.' however was all it took for him to inwardly chuckle.

"How is hope going to help us here?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow causing Ben, Gwen and Albedo to just chuckle, Kevin smiling in the background, "What is it?"

"Doctor, Hope is the name of the sorceress we told you about." Albedo clarified, "And also my honorary sibling."

"Aaah, I see. My bad then."

"Woah, when did that happen?" Kevin asked dumbfoundedly.

"Well, when you are stuck for a good month in a different world, bonds are formed." Albedo shrugged with a small smile, "We learned we were quite similar to each other, almost to a surprising degree. Both without anyone to really call family, so we decided to became each other's. If anything... it really is good to know that there is someone out there who loves you unconditionally." he added, "That was rather 'sappy' was it not?"

"Nah." Ben waved his hands dismissively, "I'm just happy you found someone you feel safe to call family."

"Haha, indeed. I never thought it would happen after-" he shook his head causing Ben's smile to falter a bit, but he didn't blame the alien. However, Albedo soon locked crimson red eyes with bright green ones, "_I _am happy you are finally smiling again Benjamin." he declared, but the sentence itself could have easily been a blow to Ben's heart. Gwen's eyes went wide even as she tried to hide it, Kai and Kevin as well looked at the alien in surprise. But the one who was most affected was Ben himself.

'Even you...' he thought as a small smile formed on his face before he reached for his chest and gripped his shirt tightly, the number 10 scrunching up under his fist, 'Even you noticed..?'

"Anyhow, yes we think of each other as siblings now Kevin." Albedo smiled, upon seeing how Ben was acting, he figured it was better to let him figure it out. "I hope there is no problem?"

"Why would there be?" Kevin shrugged with a smile, Albedo realizing at this point that even the one he would carelessly label as a 'brute' in the past was as kind as he would have liked to hide it, "See ya around." he left with a two finger salute, to resume his tasks.

"That's really sweet." Gwen smiled, honestly relieved for the second time that day, "I often used to worry about her even when we weren't exactly on speaking terms... Please be there for her." she asked, "Do that for me? Or just for her?"

"Of course, Gwendolyn." Albedo nodded, "Otherwise I would not be able to live with myself after what _she_ has done to help _me_ out. You have my word for it."

"Should I-" Ben was about to get up, being able to speak up after letting his inner turmoil settle down again.

"No, no Benjamin." Albedo shook his head, fully understanding that the last thing Ben needed currently was any sort of battlefield. "You stay here, catch up with everyone, take care of your grandfather, spend time with your lovely partner, relax and enjoy yourself as much as the situation allows. No need for you to get involved as well." he smiled warmly.

"I... Alright, if you say so." Ben reluctantly agreed, still not quite sure how to feel anymore, "Don't go getting yourself ki- Oh. Right."

Albedo just chuckled dryly, "Someday Benjamin, we will all get used to it." he declared rather ominously.

'That's what terrifies me.' Ben thought, "Fine, then you better go and get that gluttonous idiot of ours back." he added with a grin, a grin which made Albedo happy.

"You can count on it!" Albedo grinned in turn himself, then turned to the Doctor, "Are we ready to leave?"

"Of course." the Doctor nodded in response and was about to leave before:

"Oh, lest I forget, Benjamin?"

"Yeah?"

"When we get back, mind showing the Omnitrix to the Doctor?"

"Huh?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Come now, you kept glancing at it from time to time, I know you are curious." Albedo teased.

"Maybe a little." the Time Lord shrugged, not once trying to hide his curiosity after that.

"I don't mind." Ben shrugged honestly. "See you around?"

"Definitely." Albedo nodded as the strange alien duo left through the door with a small wave. In a matter of seconds after they have left the trio left in Gwen's 'office' heard a rather signature sounding noise reverberate from the main hall before it quieted down.

"Every time he comes back..." Ben muttered, his smile fading and his fists clenching again, "It just gets more and more complicated. Everything around him and this stupid situation." he sighed, "Every time." he locked eyes with his cousin who was visibly just as worried as he was, "What is our world becoming Gwen? What is our _life_ becoming?"

"I wish I knew that Ben... I really do." she answered with a sigh, "Maybe we'll figure it out eventually. Maybe."

"I hope so." Ben nodded as he got up, Kai following him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon Ben, let's continue where we left off, we can think about this in more detail tonight, alright?" the girl offered him a reassuring smile, forcing him to go on and be himself for days on.

"Yeah, yeah. I need to take my mind off of all this." Ben nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face, whether it was forced or genuine however, neither of the two girls could tell anymore, "See you Gwen." he said goodbye to his cousin before he and Kai left.

'Even Paradox is confused about all of this...' Gwen thought, pinching the bridge of her nose again, 'How are _we_ supposed to figure it out then?'

_**Alright, first of all I would like to wish all of you a belated Happy New Year! I would have liked to get this chapter out to you sooner, but I did not quite have time to work on it. Nonetheless it is here now, and the follow up is hot on its tail (I hope that is not a false promise, but exams are starting next week so I'll see what I can do) with our newfound adventuring trio following the steps of the seven unfortunate travelers.**_

_**Nonetheless I am quite happy with how this chapter had turned out, and would like to keep this going. I realized that the way things were going, Ben was eventually going to break down, that's why I had Albedo suggest to him last chapter to go and spend some time with Kai, because even if they are not the most apparently lovey-dovey couple around, Kai was the only one who could help Ben collect himself, what with Max being out cold, Gwen having already a lot on her plate, and Sandra and Carl being in a different shelter (I know that part was not exactly mentioned yet, but it is the case), Kai was the only one with enough wit to talk some sense into this sack of depression that became of Ben. This chapter as such focused as much on the new world our duo found themselves in as it did on Ben. This is a version of Ben who despite all his best efforts lost someone precious to him, and as it is quite evident it affected him greatly. Albedo on the other hand is getting constantly bombarded by everyone he meets, so at this point he's just joking around, not that he really isn't the pessimist he appears to be, for now at least.**_

_**On the other hand, Jeff being the one to get separated with the girls came about later in writing this chapter, and the main reason for it was to one: let the readers know that something was up with the world Albedo comes from, and two: to have Jeff become a bit more independent. I think you all know or at least have an inkling of how he will meet certain characters next time with his antics.**_

_**I'm sorry if it wasn't so action packed or anything, this was supposed to act as an exposition chapter to set up what was to come, I hope I can deliver on my promise to make this entire Arc as interesting as I have imagined it.**_

_**Now as a closing point, I once again would like to clarify that this rendition of the MLP characters and the Doctor are all the courtesy of **_**The 1597 Faceless Writer**_** and are used with permission, I just hope I can somehow write them similarly to how they used to.**_

_**See you around!**_


	6. A Little Complication

** _Alright, short author's note: I'm back! And as a sort of celebration for my return from wherever I have been, I am bringing you all three chapters at once, which will be this entire short arc started and concluded. Perhaps I did not quite achieve what I would have wanted with this at the beginning of the year, but I truly hope you all at least find some enjoyment in it. Without further ado, please enjoy._ **

Chapter 6: A Little Complication

** _Main Hall, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A. _ **

It was in the middle of a relatively normal day, well whatever could be considered relatively 'normal' by the suit wearing creature's newer standards nowadays that is. And, in the middle of one such day, with the sunlight still shining through the peculiar one-way glass windows of the hidden mountain base, the time machine and space ship known as the TARDIS materialized, along with its peculiar noise, in the middle of the Main Hall, right in front of the elevator leading outside at the same time completely blocking up its doors. The sudden apparition of course did not escape the notice of the large well-dressed creature who was, as always, protecting the base from any and all unknown threats, however rare they might have been. It became a so called 'job' he proposed to do a while after arriving in this world and subsequently took on by his own will. He claimed to want to help, but he had to admit part of the reason was boredom when no one was around or awake. He stood outside the strange blue box and watched with the utmost precaution for any happenings, occasionally tilting his head and marveling at the sudden apparition of the item. Sure enough, in his current life something like this could hardly be called out of the ordinary, yet still it piqued his interest well enough.

"That was certainly a better landing." he could hear the white haired alien he was still so very intrigued by commenting from inside, causing Slenderman to drop his guard at an alarming rate even by his own standards. He seemed to trust the alien quite a lot.

"The last one was definitely your fault!" a different voice came from inside as well, scolding the tall man's friend with vigor, he could not help but 'smile' at the sentiment, it seemed usual, the friendly banter and bickering. Perhaps someone knew was about to join them? That thought briefly ran through his mind before eagerly awaiting whatever could exit from the confines of the box.

"Hey, we made it here did we not?" Slenderman could almost feel Albedo shrug whilst saying that, feeling himself chuckle a bit at his nonchalant reaction compared to the accusing shouting, getting a feel of what the situation could be like.

The doors opened inwards without much fanfare as the white haired teen's head poked out in a rather comedic fashion, and a small grin crept onto his face upon taking a look around his surroundings, somehow completely missing the fact that Slenderman was barely a couple meters in front of him.

"We actually made it this time!" he triumphantly declared, with a fist high in the air. "Oh, my, you certainly know how to scare a man." he suddenly said after a small jump as he looked up at Slenderman. The Galvan put a hand to his chest in dramatic exaggeration but could not keep a straight face for too long as a snicker escaped him.

The creature let out a short chuckle of his own in response, joining his new friend in his joy, ' _Well, you know how I am._' he proceeded to shrug, ' _In my defense however, I _have _ been standing here the whole time. You just have not noticed me._'

"Touché, my friend. Doctor! I do not believe the two of you are acquainted?" Albedo sarcastically asked turning back towards the inside of the box much to Slenderman's confusion.

"Who are you- Oh." was all the quadruped creature, apparently known as the Doctor, said upon exiting the box. "My, you certainly don't pull your punches." he said as he passed a glance at Albedo before raising his head to look the faceless creature 'in the eyes'. The blank and seemingly emotionless stare he got back did little to instill confidence into the Time Lord.

"Doctor, this is Slenderman." Albedo smiled, "Likewise, Slenderman this is the Doctor." he pointed at the quadruped next to him, "He is a time traveling alien from a different world."

' _Ah! It is very much a pleasure to meet you!_' Slenderman declared, intrigued once again, his face shifting into his equivalent of a smile. After all he was quite a long-lived creature, forced to do some unthinkable things in the middle of his long life, perhaps he too was even immortal, and nowadays he was truly entertained by his newfound friends' antics. And now, another supposedly eccentric alien was standing in front of him, he was feeling excitement he probably had not felt in centuries. 'Perhaps it was in my best interest to leave my old world behind after all.' he mused as his 'smile' never once faltered. ' _Also, I do believe I got the whole 'different world' part, thank you._' he added with a small snicker.

** _The Doctor_ **

'Well, he's certainly a lot cheerier than any of the stories make him out to be.' the Time Lord inwardly shrugged at the sight of the huge creature, marveling at the sheer height of him.

' _Do not take this the wrong way, but compared to the usual you have returned quite early though... Did perhaps something happen?_' the creature asked of Albedo, its 'smile' fading. The Doctor on his end however was more intrigued by the method of communication this creature in front of him might have been using.

'Is it telepathy?' he mused in his thoughts, before they seemed to register what Slenderman had actually said, 'Oh, so he usually stays for longer intervals? Or is it just surprising that he returned so fast?' the Doctor continued musing in his thoughts. 'No, he did say that thing is unpredictable. Aaah, everything is so new! I love new! But I _so_ don't like the unexpected!'

"We had an unfortunate secondary run in with the portal in the world we ended up in you see... And it promptly took Jeffrey with it just as abruptly as it showed up. Right from under _my_ nose." the Galvan explained, visible quite peeved as Slenderman saw him clench his fists.

' _Oh, I see..._' Slenderman said dejectedly, ' _That is... Quite unfortunate. Nonetheless I am sure young Jeffery can take care of himself._'

"Oh, I do not have any doubts about that my friend." Albedo nodded in agreement, "The actual problem here is that the Doctor's friends were taken along for the ride as well, just as unwillingly as Jeffery."

' _Oh my._' Slenderman seemed to gasp in his own way, ' _That does seem like cause for concern._'

"Yes, I know they can protect themselves if need be... It's just..." the Doctor let out a sigh, "From what Albedo had told me about all the different sorts of worlds they have visited, I think I'm understandably afraid for their wellbeing."

"Believe me Doctor, even if I had not told you anything, your worry would be quite understandable."

' _Indeed, that's right._' the tall creature nodded, ' _In that case I certainly understand why you hurried back here. Though I think I must ask, _how _ exactly have you managed to pull that off? I thought you were yet incapable of opening portals by yourself? Or even traversing through this 'worldly border' I have heard you mention several times for that matter. Did something change mayhaps?_'

'I so don't like that _yet_ in there.' the Doctor inwardly shuddered upon remembering Jeff's foreboding warning. "That's thanks to me actually." the Time Lord somewhat proudly pointed at himself then the TARDIS, all the while trying his best to hush the foreboding warning and his thoughts about it away.

' _Ah, I take it this appearance is due to some sort of cloaking device? The outward appearance of this phone booth I mean._' the tall man asked as he slowly walked around the box, ' _Hiding a ship perhaps? One can only guess after seeing how it looks inside._' he put a long index finger under his chin, ' _On second thought, you are called the _Doctor _ yes? I believe I might have heard about something like that from Jeffrey actually. With Albedo even saying you are of the time traveling sort I think I can put the picture together, yes. Not that I know more than that._'

"Ah, Albedo did say you two shared a world." the Time Lord chuckled dejectedly, "I guess it's fair to think you would also know about me, even if it feels mighty weird."

' _Oh, only little tid-bits nothing too spectacular._' he seemed to chuckle, the Doctor still had trouble reading his face, but at the same time he felt as if the creature was trying to cheer him up, as if to say 'You can tell me about yourself and the ship whenever.' making him chuckle a bit as well.

"On that note, as much as I would like to stay and continue, I am afraid we are going to have to cut this chat short. Not that we are that short on time with how the portal functions, but I still believe that every second counts... Even if that sounds like an oxymoron. Do you maybe know where everyone is?" the Galvan next to him chipped in with his own question, looking around at any other signs of life. "Everyone besides Benjamin that is? It seems awfully sparse in here."

' _Ah, so you know about Benjamin's little excursion?_'

"Yes, through unforeseen circumstances we ended up over there by accident first before coming here." Albedo chuckled, "The landing was less then fruitful."

' _I see. Well, to answer your question, I do indeed! Ace and Krystal are off doing target practice once again. They have mentioned yesterday that they are making progress with their marksmanship._' the tall man mentioned two names the Doctor couldn't place, ' _The two of them seem to have bonded over their fondness of long-range weaponry, the young boy even said he felt himself improving more with the lady's guidance. Though I cannot help but wonder how that bulky of a weapon works... However, I fear young Rex might be angered about something. He has been beating up strange mutated creatures in that simulated test field of yours since before you left, and he will not come talk to anyone. All he ever told me was that he was 'fine'._' he placed a hand under his chin, ' _Obviously that is not the case. Perhaps, when you get the chance you could talk to him? I fear that may become a common thing around here if we are not careful._'

"You are quite right. I do not think I have addressed the problems of Mr. Salazar at all." Albedo frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose with frustration visible on his face, as he remembered their 'talk' inside the simulation with Rex's world, 'Was any of that even real?' he suddenly shuddered a bit at the possibility, 'No, no, no, it had to have been. Naruto's world was real, that should have been as- Ah, I am just making things worse for my own mental wellbeing am I not?' he let out a sigh to calm himself down a bit as he turned back to the tall man, "I am doing quite a terrible job at being around here in general... or taking anyone with me for that matter. Or even simply talking to the others." he added under his breath. "Aaah! Talking is _really_ not my strong suit!" he angrily ruffled his hair.

'You seemed to have no trouble talking to me though? Also, I do believe blaming yourself never helps.' the Doctor mused in his thoughts, 'Been there, done that.'

"But as it currently stands, even with all my obvious faults as a leader figure, I fear I cannot stand around any longer than we already have as is." the white haired alien's fists clenched again, his frustrations chomping at his thoughts, "We are grasping at straws enough as it is... I cannot afford to waste more time, even if it is on my side for the time being." he looked up at the tall man, his gaze softening, "Is... Is dear Hope still in her room, my friend?"

' _I am afraid so._' Slenderman nodded sadly as he turned towards what appeared to be a corridor, ' _I am barred from entering her room, as is everyone else, nor will she let me in. Magic is a pesky thing as I have come to realize recently. None of us could really talk to her, nor did any of our attempts to cheer her up from whatever has got her down had any effect. I fear she might be getting in over her head on something._' he let out a lengthy sigh, ' _I do not know much about the magical side of things, but I do know when someone is overexerting themselves._'

"Why? What is the problem?" the Doctor couldn't help to butt in at that point. The person they were looking for has locked themselves up? Without any notice?

"Hope, you see, has one day declared out of the blue that she will initiate work on a new spell and has refused to leave her room for anything but the occasional meal since." Albedo explained, his expression clearly pained. "And... I honestly believe that I might be the cause of this problem as well."

' _You cannot blame yourself for that._' Slenderman chided.

"Can I not?" Albedo questioned, throwing a glance at the faceless creature, "Can you, without a doubt, say that I, in all my newfound immortal glory, have not been putting too much strain on her? Can you?" he asked, causing the other two to clamp up in surprise, "I took her with me to all sorts of odd places, without a moment's rest. I did not in any way account for her now did I? She's still a human! Even with all her amazing powers, she's still..."

The Time Lord and the faceless creature looked at the Galvan, currently looking at the floor with his fists clenched, in concern before the Doctor took a dive and asked.

"Still what..?" though he felt he had an idea what he could be referring to.

"Mortal! She's still mortal!" Albedo snapped, to the others' surprise "She can die at a moment's notice and I would not be able to do anything about it!" his fist shook in anger, "I am responsible for her just as much as she is for herself."

' _Come now, you are not giving her enough credit._' Slenderman scolded. ' _The young lady is more than capable of taking care of herself._'

"I..." this time it was the Galvan's turn to shut up, "I know. You are right, I just... I put her through so, _so_ much. And she never complained! She never said anything! I never heard an ounce of gripe with whatever we were doing... And I took that for granted..." he felt the urge to punch something rising, just to vent his frustration but he held it back, "Why, if not for my inadequacy, would she have felt the need to conduct this experiment of hers?! Whatever that magic is, it has to be to help herself somehow... To keep up with me and my dumb self."

' _Have you not yet realized it?_' Slenderman simply asked, catching the Galvan off guard.

"W-what-" his eyes going wide, the white-haired alien looked up at the suit wearing man. "What do you-"

' _It is not my place to make you realize that now is it?_' the tall man playfully responded, ' _If you two are siblings, the least you can do is figure out what troubles the two of you by yourselves._"

"I..." Albedo was left without words for a couple seconds almost as if realization hit, before a small smile crept onto his face, "You are right. Of course. You are truly." he chuckled weakly, "Even so, the fact that she has not left her room still is troubling at worst."

"You're right, that _isn't_ good." the Doctor deadpanned feeling it alright now to speak up again. He was quite familiar with what troubled the now immortal Galvan, but the fact that he himself had yet to realize was an interesting fact. On the other hand, regarding their current predicament, he wasn't too knowledgeable about magic if he thought about it, but the described situation really gave way to worry. Then, the gears in his head began spinning, "Hmm, from what you've told me though, you two are rather close yes? Considering our tall friend referred to the two of you as siblings I shall take it as true."

"We're somewhat like siblings yes." Albedo nodded, slightly unnerved by the small smile the Doctor was showing him, or perhaps by the sadness behind it. "We sort of adopted each other, so to say." he added with a small chuckle, but that explanation caused the pony to raise an eyebrow but he brushed it off.

"If she decided to keep it from even you, I fear it might actually be something serious." the Time Lord continued, before he scrunched his eyebrows, "Or perhaps... She is doing something she knows you would not agree with? I have some theories currently but..." he shook his head, "Nevermind them right now. For now, however, since we need her help, I propose we don't let her catch onto the fact that you suspect her of anything, rather observe her while she's with us. That is, if she's willing to come."

"Agreed." Albedo nodded, "The last thing I would want is for Hope to think I do not trust her." he explained, "I of all people know how that feels all too well. I am just rather worried after all, who would not be?" he smiled somewhat reluctantly, Slenderman's words still swirling inside his thoughts, "Come, her room is this way." he started walking away, 'Something I would not agree with?'

"Lead the way." the Doctor nodded in agreement, the two bidding their farewells to the suited creature who promptly, to the Doctor's quite apparent surprise and the Galvan's silent delight at this fact, disappeared in front of his eyes. "Does he always do that?"

"Quite often in fact. Could not ask for a better guard though!" Albedo chuckled with a slight shrug as the two rounded the corridor, soon arriving at the middle of it. A large metallic door stood in front of the Doctor, similar to all the others lining the walls in strangely close proximity, one that looked quite futuristic despite what the TARDIS showed this world's current time period to be. All the doors in the corridor were the exact same with only slight differences. A small screen on the door showed a text in magenta letters, reading 'Charmcaster.'

"Are you certain this is the 21st century?" he couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Doctor, whilst I agree that I know about as much about this place as you do and I _live_ here, this world is quite different to yours. Aliens are common knowledge, and alien tech is not that farfetched." the Galvan declared with a poker face.

"You never mentioned that!"

"I did in fact, twice to be exact. You reacted like this both times." Albedo sighed, much to the Doctor's horror, "And it was in the short time span of 20 minutes."

"I-" the Time Lord's words caught in his mouth as he suddenly remembered that the conversation _did_ in fact happen, he just blocked it out for some reason, "Perhaps that was just something I did not want to believe." he surmised, though even he did not believe that to be the reason, ironically.

"Is the fact that humanity somewhat accepted alien life forms that strange to you?" the boy questioned.

"Perhaps my perception is influenced by the fact that my Earth's alien visitors usually turned out to be invaders." this time it was the Doctor's turn to deadpan, quite flamboyantly.

"Oh, do not be mistaken, we have had those too! Well Benjamin did, and he promptly stopped them, all the time." he sighed, "There... _Is_ one 'person' out there who you should never meet however. He makes everyone of your enemies but these Daleks look like child's play, and I do not use the term loosely."

"W-who is-" the Doctor, upon noticing the evident fe- no... It was rage, unbridled fury that was showing in the crimson eyes facing his brown ones, as a result his question got cut off by himself.

"Taking note of my apparently fragile mental state in the recent happenings in my life I think I would rather stay silent." he said in an awfully monotone voice, his eyes wide almost literally burning in anger, "If I so much as say his name I am afraid I am going to snap, so I advise you do not ask." Albedo twitched once to the Doctor's apparent surprise.

"...What happened?" his curiosity getting the better of him, the Time Lord pried further, avoiding the issue of naming this creature.

"He left me on a **spaceship, _SINKING,_ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMN OCEAN!**" Albedo exploded to the Doctor's shock, one of his pupils shrunken the iris around it not so crimson anymore, but this only stayed for a fraction of a second, "After all I have done for that ungrateful, spineless ingrate he just tossed me aside at the drop of a hat... Not to say I did not expect betrayal, because of course I knew who I was dealing with, it was by choice... But the sheer lack of care with which he just threw me away made me realize what anger really feels like my friend." he let out a lengthy sigh. "I suppose it was my own fault for trusting that vermin in the first place, but not much I can do about it now."

"Excuse my ignorance but with your... 'Abilities' could you not have gotten out?"

"Oh! That is _precisely_ the problem here Doctor! I did not have _any _powers back than due to the circumstances, ANY! I was the same as a normal human, nothing more and nothing less... Were it not for Benjamin and his group I would have drowned under some forsaken wreckage in the middle of whatever hidden hole of that ocean... All because of my own poor judgement. Perhaps I am madder at myself than _that **thing**_... But you know what they say, it is easier to blame others. Nonetheless, I owe a lot to Benjamin... But do not tell him I told you this."

"Of course, but you _will_ have to get me in the know about this whole history of you two. I cannot simply understand everything from the get-go." the Doctor nodded, "And perhaps it's better if you told him not me."

Albedo let out a sigh at the proposal, "Indeed, I admit, I really put a nutshell around the story I have told you back on your ship. Nevertheless, the fact that you are here... and willing to help me means a lot friend."

"Oi, of course I would!" the Doctor scolded the Galvan, "Sure, part of the reason is my friends being whisked off to some unknown world, but I have to say this whole 'portal' business interests me, even despite the situation. With how unpredictable it is, the possibilities are literally endless."

"Exactly what makes it so troublesome." Albedo sighed, though he then raised an eyebrow, "That reminds me, I thought you would be, how do they say it, 'more on my case' about this whole thing. Do you not care abo- No, apologies I worded that wrong."

"Oh, I _am _worried. Trust me." the Doctor assured, "It's just that those girls have proven me wrong so many times now, as I have already told your friend back there, I have my faith in them." he smiled warmly then looked at Albedo, "Besides, if what you told me about Jeff is true, I have even less to worry about."

"That really depends on where they ended up my friend." Albedo chuckled.

"Oi, don't ruin the moment."

"Oh that does remind me, about our previous topic on the question of this base."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"As I have seen you eying them, you might be interested why the doors are this close to each other, right?" he received an affirming nod in response, "So, as it appears, each of the rooms is equipped with a small control panel. This said panel allows whoever, after an optional DNA lock, to literally make the room whatever they would like it to be." he declared flamboyantly.

"What?! Wouldn't that mean-"

"That it would be bigger on the inside?" Albedo asked with a coy smile, "Yes, yes it would mean." he nodded in response, "The reason behind this place is one of the biggest mysteries around here even besides how that Clyde fellow managed to overthrow the Magistrata."

"But, wasn't this your hideout?"

"Yes, it was." Albedo simply nodded, "Me and a friend found it when trying to lay low... When we noticed that my DNA opens the lock to the elevator doors."

"Hold... On..." the Doctor slowly looked up at Albedo who had the same worried look. "Judging by Ben's age... This thing seems to have been built longer than 17 years ago, even despite how unnaturarily modern everything looks..."

"Yes, but it opens with Benjamin's, or in this case my, DNA... Which would mean..."

" This place should not exist." the two declared in unison as they seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"It being built cannot be put anywhere logically in the timeline, unless..." the Doctor started.

"Someone from the future came back to build it specifically for this reason. Build it for us."

"You're telling me, that your theory is that this place is in itself a **causal loop**..?" the Doctor despite his bewilderment showed a small excited smile.

"Yes, that would be the only 'logical' conclusion." Albedo nodded, "As logical as it can be anyway. Us finding this place in the past would lead to me being able to bring Benjamin and the others here upon our escape to hide, yet we do not know how this large building was even successfully hidden here, not to speak of how it was built. But we do know that it _was _already here. Which could only mean that it was specifically intended to be used by us. As such, it seems plausible because of our knowledge that our future selves, or someone who knows us will eventually go back in time to build this sometime down the line in the future... And with what undeniably could only be Time Lord technology involved in this base..."

"Our meeting was supposed to happen..." the Doctor almost audibly gasped, pausing for a couple of seconds "That... That was unexpected."

"To say the least." the former Galvan nodded, "I only started thinking deeper about this once I was inside your TARDIS for the second time. The technology was awfully similar for it to be a coincidence, and we obviously could not explain it with this world's knowledge... Or without a certain Galvan... But this all leads me to believe that my outlandish theory may actually prove itself to be correct."

"I normally would disagree with these kinds of statements, but..." the Doctor sighed, "I really have nothing, this all makes a weird kind of sense, and after hearing what you told me, I barely have reasons to even think of refusing besides saying 'This is ridiculous' over and over." he would have pinched the bridge of his nose if he could, "What exactly did we get ourselves into?"

"I... I do not know how to answer that to you Doctor, and for that I am sorry."

"Don't be, you're clearly just as confused as I am." he briefly clapped his forehooves together, "But for now, let's try to focus on getting everyone back, shall we? As long as it isn't anything outright dangerous, I believe we can ignore this issue for a while, wouldn't you say?"

"You are right, this one can wait. It was but food for thought for the future as we seem to come somewhat closer to the mystery of this place." Albedo smiled and then turned towards the door, "Shall we?"

"I'm just surprised she didn't hear you shout your lungs out earlier." the Time Lord shrugged with a small smile.

Albedo looked at the Doctor, in mock offence, "You insult me! Of course, these doors are soundproofed!" he declared with a little fanfare, causing the two to chuckle a bit. "Shall we, for real now?" at the nod of the Time Lord, Albedo knocked on the door, completely disregarding what he just said.

"Did you ju-" the Doctor was about to ask in disbelief before a little panel opened up on the door to his surprise, on it just a screen showing their reflections. Albedo suddenly pressed it at seemingly random locations across the screen and it lit up to show the image of a phone, without hesitating the Galvan pressed the icon and a short ringing sound repeated a couple times before stopping. The call got picked up. The Doctor meanwhile was as confused as he could be at the generic nature of this event. 'And a second ago we were talking about how mysterious this place is, and now here we are...'

"Hope. It is me." Albedo gently said, his voice sounding soothing. "Could you open the door for me?"

"Albedo..." 'Hope' as Albedo called her sounded troubled and surprised to the Time Lord, yet at the same time the tone of her voice seemed... Tired, like she did not want to hear or speak to him, "I... I can't. You know I'm busy."

"Hope, please..." Albedo pleaded after a short pause, clenching his fists whilst doing so, his expression clearly showing his apparent disappointment, but the Doctor could see something else in his eyes as well. An emotion he too was all too familiar with even before he got to Equestria... The feeling of being hurt. "I need you. I really do."

"No, I-" the voice said with audible hesitation.

"I... I require your help Hope." he insistently continued, his voice sounding more pleading, "I _really, _really do."

There was a brief silence, then the feminine voice spoke up again, "I really can-"

"Jeff is gone." Albedo suddenly declared without waiting for the girl to finish, for a moment his face seemed to lose all emotion, "He was taken by the portal... And I do not know where. Hope, please- Whatever you are working on... is it worth more than one of our own?" the Doctor, even with his surprise, could see the Galvan making a pained expression, possibly by the fact that he was currently utilizing a blackmail of sorts, but he seemed relieved as well. It was obvious to the Time Lord that the former Galvan was clearly displeased that he had to resort to such a tactic, but in their current situation he probably thought it was a needed evil.

There was another moment of silence following the rather backhanded question, this one lasted longer however. The Doctor stood by anxiously, but to his surprise the humanoid alien next to him just showed a small smile along with the pained and guilty frown, as if already knowing the outcome. The door soon after opened up. It revealed the form of a girl, slightly taller than Albedo, possibly because of the higher heeled boots, looking to her right and rubbing her left arm awkwardly. Her eyes had visible bags under them, her left eye showing the remains of tears. Her long silvery white hair with its magenta highlights was tied in a crudely done ponytail as if hastily put together, even the Doctor could tell it was a sloppy job. A black vest over a disheveled magenta shirt, black leggings and black boots along with similarly dark fingerless gloves, with a similar rune like magenta pattern in the middle of the back of the hand, on each hand completed her attire. This girl looked like quite a mess, even if the Doctor wanted to be kinder with his thoughts.

"You don't play fair at all..." she silently said, wiping some recently formed tears from her eyes, "How could you say-" she added under her breath but stopped herself mid-sentence. Not facing the ones before her door, probably due to some sort of emotions the Doctor couldn't figure out without context, it took the girl obviously by surprise when the former Galvan suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close in a warm embrace. Her arms froze in the air unable to do anything with them. One of the Galvan's hands was gently placed on the back of the girl's head, the other pulled her closer by her back.

"You know me dear, when have I ever played fair? Besides it was the only way I knew would work for certain. What with how you really did not want to see me." Albedo grinned, adding the second part silently, before moving his head closer to hide the forming tears, "I shall do everything in my power, everything I can to not have you destroy yourself." he whispered, "Welcome back, dear sister. Please... Please, never do that again." his face was in a pained smile from the lack of understanding.

"I- I ca-" without her control tears started welling up in her eyes again, "I didn't-"

"It is okay, it is fine." Albedo smiled and gently patted the back of her head, " It is completely fine. I cannot control your life, and I should not aspire to, but I can stop you from making mistakes that you would regret as you have done so with me so many times. I believe I owe you this much. Whatever you are working on, please do it in moderation, your health comes first. _Not all of us stick around forever._"

Those words seemed to have hit something inside the girl as the Doctor noticed her eyes widen and new tears begin to form. It almost looked like she has just received a literal punch in the gut.

'That's exactly why I don't have a lot of time!' she seemed to mouth in silence, the Doctor reading her lips from his position, raising an eyebrow in question, Albedo however remained clueless of the inner turmoil of the sorceress. It took about ten seconds for the Time Lord to process the second hand information he has just gained before his face contorted in a worriedly pained smile, his worries from before having been confirmed.

'I see now...' he thought, 'So that's what her new spell is...' he let out a quiet sigh. 'Just as I feared.'

"Nonetheless, how about you come with me to my room now." Albedo declared without a warning.

"Wha-" before the girl could say anything however, she took notice of the Doctor's presence only to be dragged away with otherworldly but still gentle force. Her eyes silently begging the pony to help without further questions. The Time Lord just slowly tagged along, drooping his head in what appeared to be confusion.

** _Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

The Doctor stopped just outside of the room's door labeled in red text with the word 'Albedo'. Same design door, same compacted space, or it had to be, since the door to Charmcaster's room was a mere meter away. 'It can't be-' he thought before stepping inside the room... Only for it to be bigger on the inside. 'How-' he did a double take, 'It really is a causal loop...' he chuckled a bit silently, 'Well, I'll say...'

"Stop!" a feminine scream brought him back to reality as he noticed Charmcaster escape from an inner door her top half's clothing clearly missing besides undergarments, she turned back towards the door and with her hands clenched in fists besides her she was about to shout again, "Why would you-"

"Please, you look like you don't know how to clean up after yourself!" Albedo declared in an almost fatherly nature as he came out from the inner room with an iron in one hand and the magenta shirt from before on a hanger.

"You didn't have to strip me!"

"My, I simply cannot have you look like a hungover person!" he sassily responded with a raised eyebrow, "Besides, I cannot iron your shirt without getting you out of it!"

"Why do you even have that iron?!"

"Why do _you_ not have an iron?!"

"What even is this argument anymore?!"

"A-are you two certain I should be here?" the Doctor couldn't help but speak up with a smile as the two focused their attention on him and stopped their bickering almost unnaturally so. Charmcaster's eyes flat beside her in surprise. "This seems like family trouble is all."

"A very dysfunctional family." Albedo chuckled. "But family nonetheless. Now, here's your shirt." he smiled as he handed the hanger with the shirt to the rather unimpressed sorceress.

"Gee, thanks." Charmcaster took the shirt hastily and put it on with the same speed, "Now, who's the pony?"

"Oh, you didn't call me a horse. That's a first." the Doctor chuckled, "Greetings, I'm the Doctor. I'm from a different world."

"Now _that_ much I've figured." the sorceress nodded.

"The Doctor here is a time traveler amongst other things you see." Albedo explained, "That portal that opened up-" the girl looked at him blankly, "Of course, nonetheless we ended up in their world and _of course_ it got complicated further."

"Ah, okay." the sorceress nodded in understanding, "I see."

"Woah, that was fast." the Doctor couldn't help but voice his amazement out loud along with doing another double take.

"Eh, not the weirdest thing I've seen. Besides 'complicated further' is kinda our thing by now." she shrugged with a short sigh before turning to Albedo, "And, how exactly did you think _I_ could help?" Charmcaster questioned just finishing buttoning up her sleeves.

"You could find Jeffrey by his mana could you not?"

"Oh! Of course I could- If he was in this _dimension_!" Charmcaster started sweetly before shouting, "Have you forgotten about that _small_ detail?" she exaggerated with her hands in front of her. However, unbeknownst to her she herself was forgetting one crucial detail herself.

"Why, no." Albedo shook his head, "I came up with a potentially ridiculous idea, but I feel like Miss Most-Powerful Sorceress here would go along with it?"

"Ugh, just say it." she waved her hands with a sigh to hurry things along as she pinched the bridge of her nose, she knew Albedo's efforts to butter her up more than anyone at this point.

'Just a couple seconds ago both were crying their eyes out.' the Doctor mused in his thoughts with a smile.

"Well, remember how we got home in the first place? Well 'home' is a bit on the nose in this sense but you get me."

The sorceress' eyes went wide in realization then she put a hand to her mouth as she muttered, "...Ledgerdomain."

"Bingo!" the former Galvan grinned from ear to ear. "As it currently stands, Ledgerdomain seems to be acting as a dimensional hub leading to this world amongst many others."

"Do you really think that would work?" the girl questioned, "And even if it does how do you plan on moving to that world?"

"I believe that is why I am here." the Doctor chipped in, finally somewhat understanding Albedo's plan, even if there were terms he had no idea about. 'I feel like he explained that last bit for my sake.' he sighed inwardly.

"Huh?"

"The Doctor's ship." Albedo hinted, "It is more than just a time machine, in fact that's how I- _we_ got back."

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on. You came back by your own accord?!" Charmcaster's eyes lit up, a small grin forming on her face, "Oh, that could work! That could definitely work!"

"Aaah, see? You are feeling it too!"

"Oh, yes I am!"

"Ah, excuse me for a moment here." the Doctor raised a hoof again before the two could get carried away, "Would you enlighten me on what this 'Ledgerdomain' is? Before you start partying without me?"

"Ah, uh, yeah. Sorry about that." Charmcaster rubbed the back of her head in sheepish apology and a small giggle, "Ledgerdomain is what spellcasters of our world call the birthplace of magic. And as it so happens, I am the current ruler." the sorceress in front of him grinned with pride as she opened a small circular magenta portal in thin air and reached through it to retrieve an interesting looking bag. Upon zipping what seemed like its 'mouth' open she took out a grey hexagonal stone with a strange pink symbol on it. "And this is our key to getting there."

"To simplify, whoever holds the Alpha Rune, which is that small stone in her hand, has power over magic itself as I have been told. But the part that interests us currently is access to Ledgerdomain." Albedo explained, "Also, yes she is the most powerful sorceress in this universe."

"Saying it out loud is kinda embarrassing." Charmcaster fidgeted a bit, letting out a small chuckle.

"Take pride in that title I would say. A year ago, you probably would have." Albedo shrugged, "I do not know much about magic, but I _do_ know that you know how to wield it. Even so, you know what we have learned in that one world, 'with great power-'"

"Ah, so you know about Spider-Man!" the Doctor chipped in causing the other two to look at him in unison with raised eyebrows, "Ah, well, my world has those sorts of things as well." he shrugged.

Albedo let out a short chuckle, "Well, as cheesy as it may sound out of context it still holds true." he said, turning towards the sorceress.

"Yeah, I know." Charmcaster nodded solemnly, "Thanks to you guys I've been spending almost no time in Ledgerdomain." she added, placing a hand to her chest with a warm smile, pressing the Alpha Rune against it, somewhat helping her relax again. The memory, even if bitter, of her father comforted her just a tiny bit.

"Hmm?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow in question. "Is there some sort of problem with this dimension?"

"Well, maybe not a general problem. You see, Ledgerdomain has a corrupting influence on the mind..." Charmcaster explained solemnly, looking briefly at the rune in her hand "The longer you stay there, the more you'll stray from common sense and reason, and about a year ago... I almost succumbed to it and made some really questionable decisions. Nothing I am or will ever be proud of. It is more effective on people with an abundance of mana but it was never stated that normal people couldn't be corrupted." she let out a pained sigh, "Through a matter of circumstances, and in turn by turning into a stone totem, I had gained some time to think, and consequently stayed as far away from Ledgerdomain as possible as a whole. An entire year in fact. Then, next thing I know I'm traveling the universe with Ben and his friends. Those guys really helped me out. Especially Gwen, his cousin. I owe a lot to them." she added happily, "I've been able to think clearly for a while now."

"Both of you huh?" the Doctor chuckled, "I suppose that's why both of you are trying so hard to get the boy to cheer up then?"

"Of course!" the two chorused in unison, to the Doctor's surprise, their eyes almost sparkling.

"We owe as much." Albedo smiled. "Even more for giving us a second chance... _Especially_ for someone like me."

"Hey, enough with all the depressing talk!" Charmcaster clapped her hands together hastily, hoping to get the Galvan's mind off of another round of self-loathing, "We're about to attempt something stupid." she said seriously, her eyes looking intently at the other two.

"Indeed! As per usual." Albedo agreed chipperly, "This might be one of my most foolish and utterly ridiculous plans! And I am totally loving it!" he then turned towards the Doctor, "Now all that remains to ask is: 'Are you ready, Doctor?'"

The Doctor forced a chuckle out, "Ridiculous plans are kinda my thing, and as of late all these random in your face kind of events have been making up my day to day life... But if it helps in getting our friends back, I'm 'down' for anything."

"That is precisely what I needed to hear!" Albedo grinned, "Now into the TARDIS we go!"

The sorceress and the Time Lord were about to leave before Albedo spoke up again. "Oh, lest I forget, Doctor! Take this with you." he caught the attention of the Gallifreyan and without too much warning tossed him a strange mask. Where he produced it from, the two did not know.

"A mask..?"

"It is an ID mask my friend." seeing the rather confused look the pony was giving him Albedo did a small facepalm at his own lack of explanation before explaining, "It is used to hide one's identity, allowing the wearer to transform into anything they desire, or even turn invisible. Seeing as how you are going to be traveling with us, I advise you use it."

"Hm, seems similar to a Perception Filter from back home."

"If the name is anything to go by, then the ID mask is just the physical variant." Albedo shrugged, "I have been to many places where they do not take to humans kindly, but at least I think you have a better chance in making yourself heard if you do not look like a talking equine creature." he added, "For now just keep it on hand."

"You... You had an ID mask all this time?" Charmcaster's left eye was starting to twitch.

"I only am in possession of two, and one of them is just about as effective as an underwater toaster." Albedo explained hastily, hoping to escape whatever the girl would have planned to do to him, "So, whilst yes I did forget and we could have used it several times, it would not have helped in the long run."

"I'm so gonna end you." Charmcaster muttered under her breath.

"Oh, but you love me too much to do that." Albedo confidently declared, making it evident that he heard her, only for the sorceress' face to not falter a tiny bit, "...Right?"

The Doctor did a fake cough to catch the duo's attention, "What would I even transform to though? Or more like _who_?"

"I believe you said you regenerated?" Albedo gave a knowing smirk before proceeding to leave his room.

A dumbfounded Doctor looked down at the mask, then at the leaving form of the Galvan before shrugging with a small smile, "Huh, this might be a lot more intriguing than I first thought." he muttered under his breath. "If only the circumstances were different." he put on the mask just to try and in a matter of seconds in the place of a pony stood a seemingly younger man with stylized brown hair and a blue suit with a red tie and an almost sand colored pair of sneakers, or 'sand shoes'. "My, this works better than expected."

"Oh, I assume this regeneration is not the literal ability then?" Charmcaster spoke up from next to him, the Doctor forgetting for a moment that she was still in the room.

"Oh no, no." the now human looking Doctor shook his head, "When a Time Lord receives fatal wounds, if there is more in his cycle left they will regenerate into a completely new body with a new personality but most of the same memories... When, in our theory, that portal brought be to Equestria, I was in the process of regenerating, it apparently resulted in me being turned into a pony." the Time Lord explained.

"Interesting." Charmcaster smiled, "So, is that like an invincibility period?"

"Somewhat yes." the Doctor nodded, "I can regenerate in the literal sense from most damage, even like a cut off hand, but I would imagine that with enough damage the regeneration process could be interrupted, which would obviously mean my actual death."

"...What does that feel like..?"

The Doctor was silent for almost a solid minute before locking his brown eyes with the girl's magenta ones, "...Terrifying."

With Charmcaster's only responses being a gulp and an understanding smile, the two nodded to each other before leaving the room, the door closing behind them as they followed after Albedo and went towards the TARDIS.

** _Main Hall, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

If anything, when Charmcaster heard the word 'spaceship' she immediately expected something a bit more grandiose... not a police phone box. 'Are these things even used anymore?' Nonetheless the more she thought about it the more she realized that a normal spaceship would obviously not have fit into the confines of their main hall or even the lounge. Then again, using a phone box as a spaceship was a pretty 'out there' idea, even by their standards.

** _Albedo_ **

"Now, what exactly are you waiting for Hope?" Albedo asked sarcastically, briefly taking note of the Doctor using the ID mask and smiling a bit, "Adventure awaits! And a rescue mission." he said with a flair as he opened the doors of the police box with little force and stepped inside without hesitation.

"Of course, it's bigger on the inside." Charmcaster punched her palm in realization rather comically. "That makes a lot more sense!"

"You guys are making me lose my vigor!" the Doctor chipped in as he appeared next to her with a defeated sigh.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The best part is when they step inside and say those lines! With enthusiasm! Not like this." he groaned as he stepped inside his ship causing the sorceress to chuckle.

"We're not really a standard for the norm though. Besides, have you forgotten our whole room schtick?" she silently asked with a wink and a smile before turning around, "Slenderman, we're off! Be back whenever!" she declared whilst looking at the empty lounge. In a matter of seconds the tall man appeared next to the couches, and he almost looked relieved to see the sorceress he greeted with a small wave of goodbye, who just offered an apologetic and sad smile in his direction before stepping inside the ship with a small wave of her own.

' _So he has managed to get her out of her room..._' the tall man more than likely would have been smiling wider if he could have.

** _Inside the TARDIS_ **

"Well, if it makes you any happy Doc, I like the design." Charmcaster offered her consolation praise.

"Haaah, thank you." the Doctor answered halfheartedly, then proceeded to shrug "I'll take what I can get. Now if you would kindly touch this panel."

"Me?" the sorceress pointed to herself in confusion. Mentally realizing that thanks to their squabble about her shirt she forgot her vest, glaring daggers at the white-haired alien once again who looked away and pretended to whistle.

"Oh yes." Albedo nodded, hoping to get her attention away from the missing article of clothing, "You are the one with direct access to Ledgerdomain, and since we need to make use of the TARDIS, this panel is required for us to move there. All you have to do is think of the location as clearly as you can."

"That shouldn't be too hard." the sorceress shrugged as she approached the panel.

However at her dismissive claim the two aliens got awfully close to her face with eyes open wide in horror, "You don't/do not know what you're/you are talking about!" they said in a perfect unison as if haunted by past events.

"We need a clear image, absolutely without any interruptions!" the Doctor snapped, then glared at Albedo.

"How many times do I have to apologize for you to accept it for me!?" Albedo snapped in desperation, taking note of the fact that both of his companions were glaring daggers at him, albeit for marginally different reasons.

"O-okay, okay I got it, just stop arguing! Clear image, right? Then I'll just take us to the door!"

"There's a door to this place?" the Doctor asked in bewilderment.

"How exactly did you think people normally enter?" Albedo asked.

"I don't know!" the Time Lord snapped, "Your world is getting weirder by the second, what was I supposed to think?! Besides I never dealt with magic before Twilight and the others!"

"Fair point." Albedo shrugged as the sorceress got close to the mentioned panel and placed her hands on it.

"Welp. Here goes nothing!" she declared as the ship took off with its signature sound which Albedo came to enjoy very much.

** _Ledgerdomain_ **

The TARDIS began materializing inside the strange magical dimension in front of a massive stone door. A somewhat different outcome than the sorceress hoped for, but nonetheless they _were_ in fact at their destination. All manners of creatures that were nearby scattered at the strange new sound and the sudden apparition of the blue box. A couple painstakingly long seconds after the ship landed, in a normal position and safely, Charmcaster gently opened the door and poked her head through it with both eyes closed. Waiting a couple seconds, she slowly opened her right eye and let out a relieved sigh before closing the door.

"We're here boys!"

"See! She does it better than me!" Albedo proudly declared, for the first seconds not exactly realizing he was degrading himself, but even after he did he didn't bother correcting himself.

"Indeed, but from what you said we should not spend a long time in here." the Doctor pondered.

"Oh no worries, it's time spent directly in the dimension that affects you." Charmcaster explained, "Your ship will more than likely protect us. Besides it takes days spent here to actually affect you. In fact, like I said, the ones in most danger are those with an abundance of mana... like me."

"Nonetheless, we do not plan to spend long here." Albedo concluded, "All we need is for Hope to try to latch onto Jeff's mana and-"

"Yeah, about that plan." Charmcaster cut Albedo off, passing worried glances between the two.

"What is the problem?"

"Albedo. Jeff doesn't have any mana." the girl revealed, though the look on her face told the two that she too only just realized this fact, but that was enough for the Galvan's eyes to go wide in apparent realization too, "He's dead."

"What?!" the Doctor snapped, immediate worry flashing across his features, "How can he-"

"No, no! Not in that way Doctor!" Albedo stepped in to calm down the now confused Time Lord, though he obviously realized he was not exactly making things better, "What she means is Jeff's race. I do not know if your world has them or even a legend about them, but Jeff is what we around here call an Undying. A creature with enhanced strength, speed and regeneration and the inability to die."

"But then-"

"Yes, the problem at hand. In order for someone to realize they are one of the Undying, the first step is death." he continued rather grimly as the Doctor began processing the information. "They come back from their first death and their biology changes according to that, before that they are indistinguishable from normal humans... or potentially whatever other race. Meaning that since Jeff is not alive in the technical sense, he does not possess any mana to latch onto... Which means we are at an impasse."

"Perhaps not." the Doctor raised a hand along with an idea after processing the newfound information revealed to him.

"We're all ears Doctor." Charmcaster eagerly listened.

"Do you think you can track unicorn magic?"

** _Outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

** _Jeff_ **

Jeff having just returned from a nearby pond, and Twilight having cleaned up his hoodie once again, not even bothering to let himself dry put his hands on his hips and leaned back at quite an unnatural angle as his back cracked several times rather audibly almost feeling like his bones were breaking. After straightening up he did some light exercises with his legs and confirmed that they were indeed okay.

"Now then." he declared with the most expressionless look he could, despite the smile. "I guess we should take the plunge and go."

"Go where exactly?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow in question. "There's nothing in sight!"

"Wrong. With that whole fenced off forest thing behind us plus the creatures and charms I know exactly where we are. I just don't know _when_. And because of that I also know that there is a 'village' nearby." he declared with air quotations, "Problem is you lot probably'll need to hide yourselves."

"Huh, why?"

"This world is interesting and all, but still not talking ponies level of interesting. You guys stick out like a sore thumb, and whilst I do still have the hiding thingy Albedo made, if all six of you start to use it the charge will barely last." he sighed in disappointment, "Of course it has to have a downside, why wouldn't it?!" he silently grumbled then turned towards his unfortunate traveling partners "So, on that note you lot should choose two people to come with me and the rest of you should stay out here."

"Why would we do that?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, more at Jeff's hasty explanation than actual distrust.

"Look, there's really no need for all of us to go, and, like I said, we can't hide all of us forever. Three of us are gonna be more than fine, maybe that too will barely cut it, but the rest of you should stay out here. As much as it sounds like a stupid idea, at least for the most part it's safe... Somewhat."

"I have to say I agree." Twilight nodded, "This is unknown territory and we can't afford to lose anyone. Though I'm not exactly content with the idea of just leaving you guys out here either."

"Yeah, but what else can we do? I'm actually open to ideas despite how I look." Jeff sighed, scratching his head in frustration, "Ah, dammit..." he cursed silently.

"Aaargh, fine! Fine!" Rainbow gave in after a short internal struggle, "I'll go then, I'll just annoy everyone otherwise."

"I'll go as well." Twilight chipped in.

"Are you two sure?" Derpy asked in concern.

"Relax, I'll keep 'em safe. Besides the folks inside are not gonna harm anyone." Jeff waved dismissively, "If they try, well... I hope you won't be looking." he added ominously under his breath but the two volunteers were close enough to make out what he said, sending shivers down their spines.

"Fine. I'm gon' trust ya with this." Applejack reluctantly gave in after a good couple seconds of pondering, but not before giving a glare to Jeff who only just nodded, "But come back and tell us if you learn somethin'." she finished with a soothing smile.

"Wasn't planning on doing anything else Jackie. If nothin' else, I'm a man of my word." Jeff grinned, using yet another nickname. Applejack scoffed but she at least could accept that Jeff was trustworthy, if somewhat unstable. "Now stay out of trouble and protect each other and all that jazz. I dunno what leader type guys say in these situations, but eh, we'll be back and all that. Whatevs, ya get the gist of it." he shrugged.

"You really nailed that." Pinkie commented sarcastically, doing her best to form a reassuring smile. "Ten outta ten performance."

"Hush now!" Jeff snapped in mock annoyance.

The newly immortal young man took out the cylindrical device from his pocket and turned a small dial, soon after pointing the device at his two companions. With the press of the button the two next to him turned into two young looking human girls, barely younger than Jeff's current appearance would suggest. Rainbow's hair stayed the same yet somehow the device gave her quite a matching outfit. A blue hoodie over a pure white shirt, her Cutie Mark hanging from her neck as a necklace. Black leggings with rainbow lightnings running down its sides, along with a pair of blue and white sneakers with red laces. With her long hair tied into a ponytail, she looked rather colorful compared to what Jeff was expecting. 'Welp, yeah honestly _you _of all people should have expected this.' he chastised himself in his head and almost heard his younger self giggling, then he turned over to Twilight, who wore a lavender shirt and a dark purple skirt with matching white thigh-highs with magenta stripes at the top and a pair of sneakers the same color as her hair, and for some reason she was wearing a lab coat on top of this ensemble. 'Alright, now that is new.' Jeff thought with a smirk.

"Woah. This is... _weird._" Rainbow exclaimed as she looked at her hands and upon moving her fingers slightly, freaked out.

"Yeah this thingy makes you seem like you were the thing you turned into from the start, apparently it's like you instinctively know how to human and all that jazz." Jeff explained to the best of his ability, which suffice to say wasn't much.

"Really going hard with the nerd vibes, eh egghead?" Rainbow teased Twilight who just looked at her in annoyance.

"I don't get it, why do I have this?"

"Eh, just go with it." Jeff shrugged, "Lab coats are cool." he then turned towards the proposed direction they were to set off towards, "Now you lot, stay hidden and take care of each other for a short while, we'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay, okay." Applejack smiled warmly, "I get that you're worried but you don't have to say that every time."

"I... I guess not." Jeff shrugged as he started walking, "Come on you two, we're losing daytime."

"T-take care!" Fluttershy gently called after them as Jeff waved back, not turning back.

"Woah, walking on two legs is _weird._" Rainbow exclaimed once they put a little distance behind them, once again putting emphasis on her chosen word.

"You get used to it in about five minutes." Jeff shrugged, "No worries."

"If you say so." Rainbow nodded reluctantly, whilst Twilight was trying to both take note of their surroundings _and_ figure out why she had a lab coat, in her silence, seemingly not feeling as weird walking on two legs as her friend. "I miss my wings."

"I bet ya do."

** _20 minutes later_**

**_Entrance to the Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

"Welp, here we are." Jeff declared with his arms wide, grandiosely showing off the gigantic gates, inwardly ecstatic that his hunch was right.

"And I thought the castle gates were massive." Rainbow declared dumbfounded, craning her neck to look up at the top.

"Yeah, well it adds to the aesthetic. Or whatever." Jeff shrugged, "Come on, let's go."

"Do you know where we're going?" Twilight asked, not exactly calm by Jeff's jittery behavior.

"Roughly yeah." Jeff nodded, "I'll know we're there when we see it." he added with a shrug, not filling the unicorn with any confidence whatsoever, "Now come on."

** _Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

The grandiose aesthetic of the village was leaving the two pony-turned-human girls in awe. The bustling people rarely but quite actively sent glances their way, and even if the girls did not notice, they were doing exactly what Jeff was hoping they wouldn't, standing out. Even with his bandana over his mouth, Jeff was the example of a monochrome painting come to life, with a somewhat terrifying aesthetic to him, whilst on the other hand Rainbow seemed to have stolen colors from around her. Twilight wasn't exactly left without attention either, making Jeff hurry his steps to help them get out of the public eye as fast as possible. It was only thanks to this that Jeff realized the one fact he wished he never had to consider or accept... He did not know the village's layout one bit. And the bigger problem being that they were quite lost. Though perhaps he should have considered that as a possibility when even after wondering for a good 45 minutes they were still nowhere near their destination.

"Aaargh, dammit all!" he suddenly snapped as the trio was catching their breath in an alleyway. "I thought I knew this place! Curse the animators!" he rather comically shook his clenched fist towards the sky.

"I'm afraid to ask, but..." Twilight started, between ragged breaths, holding a hand to her chest.

"When exactly did you watch the show this place was in?" Rainbow asked with a tilt of her head.

"...About 12 years ago?" Jeff declared in the form of a question sheepishly.

"What?!" the girls echoed in unison.

"Okay, okay! Bite me!" Jeff snapped, crossing his arms, "I didn't exactly think a random anime would be important in my life sometime alright? Nor did I really think things through once we got into here!"

"...was your day?" a voice came from surprisingly above them, though thanks to the girls yelling his head off Jeff barely caught it. It sounded small and feminine, somewhat shy even. Jeff was quite surprised that his ears even picked up on it.

"Shush!" he snapped sharply but hurried to stay somewhat silent.

"Huh?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow in irritation before Jeff placed a finger in front of his mouth.

"Do you two hear that?"

At the question the two started intently listening to their surroundings, and after a couple of seconds they too heard the small voice, confirming with a nod.

"We're in a residential area, it isn't strange to-" Twilight started silently only to be surprised by Jeff nodding.

"Yeah, but that voice seems weird." Jeff declared, "How exactly is it that we can hear it through a wall when it's that quiet?" he asked causing the former unicorn's eyes to widen. Then Jeff's blue eyes darted around their surroundings, taking them in in more detail as a small grin crept onto his face behind the bandana, "On the other hand, I think I finally know where we are."

"Huh?! Are you for real?!" Rainbow snapped in exasperation at not only the sudden declaration but the just as sudden change of topics.

"Oh this time for sure!" Jeff cackled as he dashed to his left, the two former ponies having almost no time to follow him, "Here we go girls!"

** _In front of Naruto's Apartment, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

Sure enough, it seemed that the former killer's instinct was on point as, if it was not hidden by his jaw patterned bandana, one could have seen him grinning from ear to ear even despite his permanent scar. He was practically jumping in place in excitement, more so that he finally found what he was looking for rather than who he was about to meet. However, by the time the two girls finally caught up to him, he has already knocked on the door... Only to realize how stupid his only question was going to sound.

"Did you seriously jus-" Rainbow's irritation was quite obvious, evident by her outstretched arms ready to strangle the man, but just as they stopped behind him and his monochrome glory, the door in front of them opened, revealing a rather surprised blond-haired ninja. The surprise itself stemming more so from how odd and colorful his visitors were.

"Uhh, can I help you?" he asked with precaution upon noticing the worryingly pale complexion of the man in front of him, and the somewhat menacing look in his eyes. Not exactly the most pleasant of memories flashed through his mind about a certain snake themed shinobi.

"So, I know we just met, and you have no idea who I am, why I am here, or why I look like this and all, and what I'm about to ask you may sound preposterou-" Jeff started without a moment of hesitation rather rapidly, almost carrying himself like a businessman, to which his appearance did no justice.

"Just get to the point!" Rainbow snapped in irritation, with both arms out in front of her, making both Jeff and the blond ninja shrink back a bit.

"Right, so, uh, do you know anyone by the name of Albedo?"

The two girls' and Naruto's eyes went wide in a strange unison at the question, but the ninja got visibly more wary, more than likely not expecting the question.

"What are you-" the rainbow haired girl silently freaked out only to be silenced by a simple answer.

"Y-yeah, I do." Naruto nodded, after a good amount of consideration.

At that response Jeff visibly calmed down and let out a sigh, almost cartoonishly so as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He quietly put his fist close to his chest and whispered 'Yes!' pumping it slightly. Following this he put both hands on his hips before continuing.

"Phew, for a good couple seconds I thought we were in a different version of this world." he declared nonchalantly, only just now noticing that the one in front of him was ready to defend himself at a moment's notice, "Oh, woah, wait! I'm Albedo's fr- traveling buddy."

"Huh?" Twilight audibly asked. "Really?" she continued with a raised eyebrow of disbelief.

"I mean, he never really _called_ me his friend so I dunno." Jeff shrugged without turning to face the unicorn. "Plus, I never really _had_ friends." he added as an afterthought. "Anyhow, I suppose since you know the big guy you know about the portals as well yeah?"

Although not as wary as before, Naruto was understandably still not letting his guard down. Though for the time being he decided to hear them out. As such, he responded, "Yeah, it... ain't pretty. It _wasn't_. Not what they brought, and not what they left behind." he looked at the ground as the memory from that day came back.

"Oh yeah, it really isn't." Jeff nodded, picking up on the fact that he probably should not prod at the memory any longer, "So, on that note, a basic rundown on how we're here: the two of us, that being me and him, ended up in a different world, as per usual. But then, after Albedo overexerted himself _again_, the portal thingy opened again and took _us_ with it." he continued indicating to the girls behind him. "Aaand, now we're here. Even if we ended up in that damn forest, we're here!" he looked to the sky, blocked by the ceiling, and dramatically stretched out his arms, "And it only took an hour!"

"Did Albedo tell you were I lived?" the ninja asked, with a curios raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, I remembered the way from watching your show!" Jeff proudly declared to the dumbfounded faces of the girls behind him.

"Sure you did..." Rainbow grumbled under her breath, completely inaudibly.

"In my original world, your whole life was a tv show... Which now that I think about it isn't really a conversation starter is it?"

"Nope, not really." Naruto chuckled, "But at least that confirms that you are with Albedo." he sighed sadly, only for a small smile to form on his face, "I... I really thought he was gone for good back then."

"Oh no worries." Jeff waved dismissively, "As it turns out, it would take a lot to actually get rid of him."

Naruto only laughed at that, "In that case, it's a shame he left so suddenly." then his sadness turned to relief, "But that means he's really okay. Damn, that guy really doesn't know when to give up."

"You can say that twice." Jeff deadpanned. "He told me about the whole thing with this world... I... I dunno how to say these things an' all so I'm just gonna say I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Naruto shook his head, "All that matters is that we somehow got through it. And something tells me that wasn't even the last thing like that to happen to us." he then lightly slapped himself, at the same time changing the topic "Do you... Want to come in?"

"Actually..." Jeff trailed off awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head whilst trying to avoid direct eye contact, "Do... _you _have space?"

** _Meanwhile_ **

** _Inside the TARDIS, Behind Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Spring, 1002 C. E. _**

The TARDIS' doors opened with a thud as the three figures hurriedly entered, their breathing, save for one, ragged and hasty. "Get in, get in, get in!" the Doctor shouted at the top of his lungs as he forced the doors closed behind him. Slowly after, putting his back to them and sliding down them to catch his breath on the ground, "Phew, definitely not one of my greatest plans."

"Are you kidding me?!" Charmcaster snapped quite loudly, " _This _was your best plan?"

"It worked didn't it?!" the Doctor asked with a halfhearted and sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

"I say, going back to your first arrival to this world is quite an idea... If a bit outrageous for the purpose of tracking one person." Albedo declared, being the only one not out of breath, "But say, could you not have... thought of a better date for this?" he pinched the bridge of his nose, "One perhaps _without the zappy tin can?!_" he asked, his tone progressively getting more irritated by the end of the sentence. "Surely Ms. Sparkle has used her magic more than once whilst in your vicinity?"

"I admit, the Dalek kinda got left out of my calculations in this plan." the Doctor admitted with a slight shrug, "But we got results didn't we?"

Albedo only let out a sigh at that, "Well, at least now I know that you were not kidding when you said they were dangerous."

"Yeah, that kinda came through with you dying." Charmcaster nodded, looking at the Doctor as well, her eyes on the floor for a couple second as she gripped her arm, "Again. Twice." she let out one last sigh, letting go of her arm, "So... Did you gain anything?" she seemed quite reluctant to ask, glancing away a couple times, not exactly maintaining eye contact but the Galvan did not notice, or did not _seem_ to notice.

"I did not seem to." Albedo mused, putting a finger to his chin as he took note of the Doctor's interested gaze fixated on him, "Though I do wonder if anything happened at all."

"Ha, maybe you're immune to their lasers now or something." Charmcaster jokingly stated, partly to take her mind off of her own feelings, only to realize the other two weren't laughing and instead were looking straight at her, "W-what..? You don't think..?"

"Dear, at this point I would not be surprised at anything." Albedo declared, "Not to say that I am just going to go and outright check that fact though. I would however say that dying twice to the same thing should have at least awarded me something, no? Nonetheless, that is a matter for later, for now I believe you were able to get a read on our dear unicorn friend's magic, yes?"

"Yeah, even despite everything going on. Guess we should go back to Ledgerdomain huh?" she asked somewhat half-heartedly, still pondering about what just happened to them. 'He died again...' she mused in her thoughts, 'He's more and more used to that... I don't... I can't...'

"Hope?" Albedo called out in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry, I was lost in thought." she sheepishly hid her concerns again, before turning towards the console. 'I need to complete _that_ at all costs. I... I can't leave him alone. Not when he's like this. I'll... think about the consequences later.'

In a matter of seconds after the sorceress stepped up to the panel, the TARDIS shook again and it once again took off through the time and space vortex to their next destination. Charmcaster all the while pondering within her thoughts, she was not feeling great. The Doctor on the other hand had his fair share of emotions shared with him, picking up on that fact was not beyond him, still he did not know what he could say or ask, the girl probably would not share it anyway. What troubled him more, was the fact that he was sure he knew what she was thinking of doing.

'This is going to be a long adventure isn't it?' he mused in his thoughts with a small sigh as they drifted through the vortex. 'Long and tedious.'

** _Inside Naruto's Apartment, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

** _Naruto_ **

Naruto had to admit that his life wasn't exactly ordinary, even after learning about alternate worlds, and comparing himself to a normal citizen, no matter from what angle one looked at it, but this day just kept getting stranger and stranger as it went on. He had an odd call in the morning which turned out to be yet another false mission alarm, the cause of which was still not discovered, then his meeting with a certain young lady got interrupted by some business on her side, so the two had to postpone. And now this. Sitting in his room, with the little Star on his shoulder, surrounded by some very interesting entourage. A rather bleak looking young man and... 6 ponies?

'What exactly happened today?' he couldn't help but ask in his thoughts, but yet he was still smiling on the outside. This at least meant that his friend was alive and well, these guys were _his_ friends after all. As much as he was kind of weirded out by the prospect of talking horses, he was just as excited at the fact that they existed.

"So, uh..." the black-haired man in front of him was awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, trying to maintain but at the same time to somehow avoid eye contact. "Ah, what the hell I'm not good with all this shit." he snapped, somewhat surprising the blond ninja by his change of attitude and mannerisms, "I'm Jeff." he declared, finally locking eyes with him as he extended a hand which Naruto shook without question. He then introduced everyone in his vicinity, including the two girls who turned to ponies in front of his eyes, the rainbow haired one still crossing her... arms? "And this is Naruto," Jeff indicated, pointing a hand towards him, "To you guys, he's one of Albedo's friends."

"Um, nice to meet all of ya." Naruto greeted with a friendly smile, which somehow managed to put the girls at ease.

"Likewise." Twilight nodded with a small smile.

"I take it this isn't the norm for you all?" he asked with intrigue.

"Not to this degree no." Twilight shrugged, "But at this point I probably shouldn't be surprised by anything."

Naruto laughed at that, "Ha, I know how that feels like." he mused, "Things can change in the blink of an eye."

"You're telling me." Jeff nodded whilst crossing his arms.

"Oh, you can take that off if you want." Naruto offered, referring to the bandana, "Unless it's important?"

"Eh, more of a personal comfort." Jeff shrugged as he slid the bandana down his face, expecting a surprised reaction. However, it was he who remained stumped as Naruto just smiled at him still, "Can't really be this _happy_ around people can I?" he joked. "People seem to freak out over it so I just prefer this little guy."

"Yeah, I suppose not." Naruto shrugged, though he wondered for a couple of seconds about the scar, "So, from what you told me, you guys ended up in the Forest of Death? Not a nice introduction to our world, is it?"

"Well, if getting cut in half by a giant centipede is a nice greeting, then we had quite a benevolent welcome!" Jeff snapped, mostly from irritation not in anger.

"Wait, you're-"

"Immortal?" Jeff smiled, "Apparently so. According to the big guy, I'm what he called an Undying or whatever. If the name isn't any indication, I really can't be gotten rid of."

"You're really nonchalant about this huh." Naruto deadpanned, "And you just talked like this was news to you as well."

"Well it is! Not like I don't just get used to things like these nowadays y'know? You kinda don't notice the fact that you stopped aging when you're 22 you know?" he mused, not even noticing how repetitive his sentence just sounded, putting a finger to his chin, "Although I guess surviving being shot 17 times should have given me a clue."

At his sudden revelation the whole room fell quiet. Whilst Naruto did not exactly see a gun in his life, or knew what one looked like, during Albedo and Hope's initial stay it came up in conversation sometimes, giving him enough of an idea what it was capable of... And the terrifying undertone it put to the nonchalant attitude of the one in front of him. The girls on the other hand have had quite the run ins with guns during their trips, much to their discomfort, Jeff's attitude certainly not helping things.

"What? Did I say something?"

"You got shot. 17 times. And you didn't think it was weird that you were alive?" Rainbow asked with such a deadpan expression it caught even Jeff off guard.

"I ** _really_ ** wasn't in my right mind back then." he declared, his voice deepening beyond his control for just a fraction of a second, harshly reminding the girls of what Jeff told them during the time Albedo was recovering the day before.

** _A day ago_ **

** _Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C. _ **

Rainbow just had to touch on a topic that was still not too pleasant for Jeff. She _just had to ask about **that**_. But it wasn't her fault, she was just curious, of course she was, with how he looked like it would have been surprising to not ask. Especially since they apparently met a different version of him. One that... _could have been_. 'What's up with your mouth anyway?' the question repeated in his mind, quieting down at times, then ringing louder and louder at other times as he told them his story, summarized to all hell.

"If it wasn't already obvious, I ain't right in the head." his eyes were as wide as saucepans, not blinking at all, Jeff finished his story. But then, without any indignation he returned to his 'normal' demeanor, "But for some reason... For some goddamn reason none of us understands, I of all people actually decided to go with him. Maybe the giant mantis thing helped, I dunno. But _I_ chose to go with him. Not him, _me_."

"Why is that-" Rainbow was about to ask but was cut off just as swiftly.

"I wasn't capable of rational **thought Dashie.**" he snapped, without any anger, more so pure rage, "All I was thinking about is ** _making p-people sleep_**." he continued with a slight twitch, " _I_ was ** _killing people_**." he turned towards the group, strangely only one of his eyes welling up with tears, "I was not capable of any emotion, I was following some fucked up sense of justice in eradicating assholes in the world. Hell, I'm not even the original." he pointed at his head briefly, "I'm just some second-hand psycho." but then, inexplicably he smiled, "But as soon as I went with the two of them, as soon as I left my world behind... I felt _alive_."

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight was too curious not to ask.

"I realized I had thoughts. I realized I was excited. I was hungry, I wanted a shower, I had basic needs. I was feeling things." Jeff continued. "A simple coping mechanism, a simple personality, born of anger, fury and the need for protection has become actually self-aware. Around that time was when Albedo told me that my old se- No, the _actual _Jeff was still hiding in my mind. But I was too far gone by that point for him to become prominent anymore. I am me, _he_ is himself... Only together are we 'Jeff'."

"So, you're saying that this happened once you crossed between the worlds, correct?" the Doctor asked, "Are you perhaps implying that..?"

"I, no _we_ doubt it's the portal that's changing things." Jeff shook his head in disagreement, "It might... It might actually just be Albedo's world." he sighed and ruffled his own hair, "Aaargh, it sounds really dumb, but we don't know how or why!" he shook his head again, this time more forcefully, "Anyway, maybe, maybe Albedo will be able to tell you more about our theories and whatevs, the bottom line is... And I'm _personally_ telling you this, don't always trust me, alright? I'm in control now, but who knows what could happen. I don't... I don't want to hurt anyone he... _I_ love anymore."

** _Current time_ **

** _Inside Naruto's Apartment, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

** _Naruto_ **

Naruto felt that the air has changed, so he tried his best to continue the conversation, as casually as he could as to not sound awkward, "Either way, are you really okay?"

"Ah, yeah! Right as rain!" Jeff grinned as he lifted his hoodie up to reveal that there was not even a scar around his waist. However, that brief glance did nothing to hide the _numerous_ other scars on his pale body. However, no one questioned him about those, Naruto felt it inappropriate to ask, and the girls at this point already knew better.

"That's a relief then, those bugs gave us a lot of trouble back then. But they gotta keep them around for the exams I suppose." the blond ninja shrugged nonplussed.

"Wait, you guys actually have exams in there?!" Rainbow snapped in surprise. Fluttershy seemed to be on the same wavelength as her, even with her love of animals.

"Oh yeah, we had the same reaction believe me." Naruto grinned, "It was a lotta trouble to say the least." he continued, "But in the end it turned out that the giant bugs were the least of our worries in there. And in the long run they have prepared us for a lot of things down the line so can't exactly be mad at the higher ups for conducting an exam like that can I?" he sighed, "I just wish they would warn us more in advance." he chuckled awkwardly.

"Ya think that would've helped?" Jeff snickered, "Your reaction would have probably still been the same I bet."

"Yeah, you're probably right." the ninja gave in without much of a fuss. "Anyhow, I get _why_ you're here, but what exactly are you guys planning on doing from now on?"

"Since we really don't know when that damn thing will show up again, I think we gotta find a place to crash." Jeff declared, rubbing the back of his head with a sigh.

"You could always stay here you know?" Naruto offered, "It's not like there's anyone you'd be bothering."

"Dude, you sure about that?" Jeff raised an eyebrow, "We're a bit more than just Albedo and Hope." he added as a counterpoint.

"Yeah I'm sure." Naruto reassured, "I don't mind the company to be honest with you."

"Oh! Before I forget again!" Jeff raised a finger to the sky for a couple seconds, "This might sound weird, not counting the whole situation, but I actually realized we were next to your house because I heard a small voice of sorts. You wouldn't happen to know who that was would ya?"

"Oh!" with a small smile creeping onto his face, Naruto exclaimed, "That might have been Star."

"T-that's me." a small meek voice sounded from the ninja's shoulder as Jeff focused on it to see a small spider, waving at him in a rather humanlike fashion.

"Huh, would ya look at that." Jeff declared with a small smile, "So you're Star." he chuckled as he extended his hand so the little arachnid could climb on it, "Albedo mentioned you a while back," he said bringing her closer to his face, "So, thanks for helpin' us out an' all that."

"I d-did that?"

"Ya sure did!" Rainbow chipped in as she flew closer to take a look at the small spider, though she held back a bit once she noticed her shrink back, "Jeffy heard your voice so we found this place a lot faster." she shot a small glare at Jeff who turned around and started mock whistling, "Mr. All-Knowing here got lost in the village."

"Yeah, I can see that." Naruto laughed in response.

"It seemed a lot smaller on TV okay?" Jeff pouted, letting Star back onto Naruto's shoulder. "Anyhow, now that we're here, we probably should be thinking about how to go back."

"And how exactly are we gonna do that?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow leveling herself to Jeff's eye level.

"I have no fuckin' idea, why do you think I suggested it?" Jeff deadpanned as if it should have been obvious, "I'm not exactly a goddamn demigod who can transform into anything he wants, nor do I have magic with me." he brought up, as Naruto should have known how Albedo and Hope got home the last time, "Hopefully if we do figure out a way or somethin' we won't be put in a simulation this time."

"Simulation?" Naruto's eyebrows rose, "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh... Yeah, about that." Jeff cringed as he rapidly recounted the events that have happened once Albedo and Hope actually got home from this world. Naruto's face promptly went wider with each passing second.

"That's a lot to take in."

"I figure it is." Jeff nodded, "Anyhow, we absolutely no idea what to do, so if you can really let us stay here, I'd appreciate it."

"Yeah, I told you it's no problem."

"Great!"

"W-wait!" Star suddenly spoke up, "S-sorry to interrupt but... D-did Albedo tell you about me?"

"Of course!" Jeff grinned, doing his face justice, "Why would he have not, he spoke a lot about ya lil gal."

"I... I just thought, that he forgot about me." she shyly revealed, "With how he just... disappeared."

"Star..." Naruto sadly looked at the rather emotional arachnid, "I told you it was unexpected."

"I... I know, I just..." they were sure that if the little spider was human, she probably would have let out a few tears now.

"Oh, that reminds me." Twilight spoke up again, "How exactly are we talking to Star?"

"Ah! Albedo made a makeshift translator thingy from his phone." Naruto revealed as he picked up the device in question from the nearby shelf.

"Ain't that handy?" Jeff smirked before frowning, "Hold on, if that's his phone... How come he has one back home as well?"

"Isn't owning more than one phone something he would do?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah there's that, true, and I would accept it as well... If it wasn't the exact same model and color and everything. Weird." he then quickly shrugged, "Nevermind that for now, can I possibly talk to the Hokage?" he suddenly screwed up his face in thought, "Speaking of, where are we in the timeline, who's the Hokage now?"

"Kakashi sensei..?" Naruto responded with a raised eyebrow, "Judgin' from _how_ you asked that question, you know who will be next? Really?"

"If nothing changes, that would be a spoiler so I ain't digging that hole for myself." Jeff quickly responded, raising his head defensively "If it ain't too much of a bother, can you take me to him?"

"Got something to discuss?" Naruto asked, if he had to be honest to himself, from his attitude Jeff did not feel like the person to be one for talking.

"I know what you're thinkin' right now, and I would say you're right most of the time." Jeff nodded, "But being separated from Albedo, and it not being the first time, I figured I needed to step up at least somehow. Not exactly leader material or whatevs, but currently I'm the only one with enough knowledge about this place besides you to ask around or whatever."

"Yes, even in human form us suddenly asking around about this village would raise too much suspicion." Twilight mused, "And it would take ages for Naruto to explain everything I would think." she asked with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, sadly." Naruto nodded, "And since you guys didn't come here voluntarily, I'd think we dunno how much time you'll be spending here."

"Also a great point." Twilight nodded, "A terrifying prospect to be honest."

"Tell me about it." Jeff nodded, "Still better than to be stuck on a planet with sandworms."

"Sandworms?" Fluttershy meekly asked.

"You really don' wanna know." the former killer shuddered. "And I mean really." he clapped his hands together, "Now then. How about we get goin'?"

"No time like the present!" Rainbow eagerly nodded, "No offense, but I wanna get home." she suddenly added as if afraid Naruto would be mad.

Naruto however just laughed, "No worries, I would be the same." he declared as he stood up. "Are all of you coming?"

"Nope, just the three of us." Jeff indicated towards himself, Rainbow and Twilight, "I mean, if you're all fine with staying here."

"Trust me, I don't plan on goin' anywhere." Applejack affirmed, Fluttershy and Derpy nodding in agreement. "You guys go ahead. We really need a bit of rest really."

"It's mainly because this thingy Albedo gave me has a limited number of people it can disguise." Jeff revealed to the blond ninja, "Besides, all of us would raise even more suspicion, even with you around."

"Point taken." Naruto nodded, "Alright then, let's go."

With that declaration, Jeff pushed the button on the device and the two girls were suddenly back to their human forms once more. Rainbow almost grinning at the prospect this time, as opposed to her surprise from the first occasion. Twilight on her end was still rather confused by the lab coat's presence.

' _Why do I have this?_' she wondered again before just silently accepting it with a short sigh, "Let's go then, while the sun is still up."

"Aight, lead the way!" Jeff asked almost triumphantly, despite not doing anything, as he turned towards Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." the blond ninja just chuckled as a response as the four of them left the small house, but not before Naruto picked up the makeshift translator, he had a feeling that Albedo was a special case in understanding him without it and at the same time left the little Star in Fluttershy's care, seemingly the only one to actually understand the creature without a translator, much to the ninja's surprise. Not long after the little group has left, the girls got to talking a bit.

"D-do you guys think we'll get home?" Fluttershy asked, sounding quite unsure.

"Of course we will sugarcube!" Applejack confidently declared putting her foreleg around Fluttershy's neck, pulling her closer, "Don't worry about that! How many times has the Doc gotten us out of situations like this?"

"A lot." Derpy nodded in response.

"Yeah, and from what Jeffy was telling us, this Albedo guy is just as capable!" Pinkie chipped in, "I mean, I dunno about the whole 'demigod' thing, but I'd believe it." she added with a shrug.

"Y-yeah. Thanks guys." Fluttershy nodded with a small smile, "Just after all that happened, this almost feels..."

"Surreal?" Applejack asked.

"Weird?" Derpy chipped in.

"Bizarre?" Pinkie added.

"All of those, in that order." Fluttershy chuckled, causing the others follow suite. "Thanks girls, that really helped."

"That's why we're here silly!" Pinkie laughed as she hugged her friend. "That's why we're friends."

** _En Route to the Hokage Residence, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

"So Jeff, how exactly did you meet Albedo?" Naruto asked, briefly turning around to face him, "If ya don't mind me asking."

"Oh boy, that story's a doozy." Jeff admitted, his bandana over his face again, the skull pattern on it almost shining in the sunlight. "It was by coincidence, he and Ben ended up in my world on complete accident." that wasn't exactly true but it was Jeff's story to tell he thought, so that obviously meant liberties were meant to be taken, "I saw him save a kid from a car, and then by another accident I found out where they were staying, so I did the only logical thing one would do. I sneaked up to the house in the middle of the night until he noticed me."

"And what part of that exactly spells 'logical' to you?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin.

"It _seemed_ logical at the time okay?" Jeff attempted to defend himself with little to no luck. "Anyhow, we met up properly in the morning, but before we could talk or anything a giant ass mantis thing came tumbling out of the portal, then Albedo was suddenly terrified as hell, picked me up as an alien and practically ordered Ben and two of his friends there to somehow evacuate the area where we would lure it towards."

"I feel like 'a giant ass mantis' is somehow more terrifying than I am already imagining it to be." Naruto gulped as memories of the composite portal came to his mind.

"Oh yeah, it had scythes for arms, and if it cut you with it, you'd cease to exist." Jeff revealed casually, "And I mean he was giant, and angry. I have a feeling if I didn't have any fightin' experience, I'd have been done in a couple times whilst fighting the thing."

"You fought it?!" Rainbow snapped, more in curiosity than surprise if she had to admit.

"Yeah, we needed to stop it before innocents got hurt and all that." he nodded, "In the end Ben squashed it like an actual bug whilst we managed to hold it down for him." he recounted, "Wouldn't wanna meet that thing again."

"I get that and all, but a 'giant ass mantis' still doesn't sound that bad to me." the pegasus repeated, somehow seeming like to Jeff she forgot a little detail somewhere in her analysis.

"Easy for you to say cause you're fast Dashie. I didn't exactly have that luxury when my existence was on the line." Jeff added with a pout.

"Alright, alright, point taken." Rainbow chuckled, "I'll believe you."

"Why does it sound like ya really don't wanna?" Jeff muttered just loud enough for Naruto to hear it, eliciting a chuckle from the ninja. "Anyhow, you seem a tad bit too happy about all this Naruto? Something you wanna share with the class?"

The used expression caused the ninja to snicker a bit before answering, "Maybe. It's just, I'm finally relieved that Albedo _is_ actually alive and all. That _and_ I have two little someones I've been meaning to visit for a while, but didn't have time."

"Little someones?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Friends of yours?"

"You could say that." Naruto shrugged after a short deliberation. "Friends I've met through Albedo."

"Oooh~" Jeff smiled underneath his bandana, "I think I know now." he added underneath his breath.

** _Hokage Residence, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

The quartet of colorful people has finally arrived in front of the large Hokage Residence after a short ten minute walk from Naruto's home. One could argue that the other three and their friends would have liked to return home already, but even if that wasn't one hundred percent true, they had no way to hurry a dimensional tear along. Nonetheless as they stood in front of the rather huge building, the two pony girls were left with open mouths almost forgetting about their goal, out of the two of them only Rainbow Dash was actually showing it, whilst Jeff himself was awed by the height of the building.

"This seemed a _lot_ smaller on screen." he scratched his chin as he looked at the building's front from all around. "Now I get why this is such an impressive building."

"Only now?" Naruto chuckled.

"Look, we only ever really got aerial shots, and obviously that's not to scale." Jeff shrugged, "Anyhow, we should probably go i-"

His word was left unsaid as a familiar face came coincidentally out from the building, as if to greet the group. The blonde ever energetic ninja casually waved at her, causing a small smile to appear on her face before it was replaced by confused curiosity.

"Hey, Shizune!" he called out.

"Naruto, it's a surprise to see you here at this ti-" that was about the time the confusion happened, "You have guests?" the oddly colorful girls and the similarly bizarrely monotone boy he had in his entourage was a cause for concern, or maybe just a spark of interest.

"It's a bit of a long story, if ya wanna hear. I can tell ya later, though I do wanna ask, is sensei still around?"

"Yes actually! Lord Sixth is still occupied with a bit of paperwork, but I believe he would be glad to see you." Shizune explained, "Sadly, I think you _will _have to fill me in later, I have some errands to run I'm behind on still." she appeared quite sad at that revelation to Jeff, but he couldn't exactly blame her.

'Not much has changed from the anime huh?' he mused in his thoughts as they said their goodbyes to the busy attendant and entered the building. However just before Jeff himself entered, something caught his eyes to the side. A flash of blue coming from a nearby small alleyway. The flash was very brief, lasting barely a second but Jeff did not miss it, 'Blue..? God damn it.' he cursed under his breath as he unnaturally quietly sneaked off to investigate.

** _Alleyway_ **

'Where the fuck are you?' Jeff angrily mused in his thoughts as he rounded into the alleyway in search of what inevitably would be the portal, again, 'You couldn't wait a bit? Just a _teeny_ tiny bit? Let us have fun for a while?'

' _W-wait! W-what are you doing?_' a younger voice echoed in his mind suddenly as he clutched his head for a second, a twitch of pain running through it.

'Can't you tell Jeffy?' Jeff snapped at his younger self's apparent concern with a cocky grin, 'I'm checking out our apparent problem.'

' _You're gonna leave them behind?!_' his younger self's consciousness snapped, seemingly struggling to calm down, ' _H-how could y-_'

'Calm down, would ya already?!' Jeff snapped back, 'I believe I told you I'm checkin' it out, not divin' in headfirst, _and,_ I also did not say anythin' about leavin'! Have a lil trust in me buddy. Sheesh. 'Sides, not like I would jump in again alone. Not anymore. I learned my lesson with this whole shit.'

' _O-oh, s-sorry, I-_'

"I know, I know." Jeff sighed out loud, "I get it. Anyhow let's see what we're-"

As Jeff rounded the corner however, he came face to face with the same blue swirling tear between dimensions, this one's edges appearing a bit rougher. However, this one quite obviously opened up to somewhere else. Somewhere, by the looks of it, far more sinister than usual. Or at least it _felt_ sinister, the eerie calm atmosphere of the place he was looking at, seemingly an enormous mine at first glance, was sending shivers down his spine.

"What... Is this?" he mused silently as he looked through the space presented on the other side of the portal. "A mine? This big? Nah, ca- No, nevermind, you live with _that_ Albedo." he chastised himself as he shook his head with a small chuckle. Then his eyes opened wide, 'Wait... Hold the hell up! Is that... Zs'Skayr?!' he screwed his eyes shut for a second before trying to focus it on the apparent ghostly figure in the far distance as he hid just near the portal so at best only his head was visible, the portal apparently not noticed by the ghostly overlord, or the now visible entourage of minions beneath him, that was when he noticed a bit of a detail he missed before 'Hold up... he looks a lot more, ragged... and green?' he then pinched his nose, 'I really wish I knew my eyes were this good before this shit happened.' he let out a silent sigh, 'Well as long as they don't notice the portal, I guess I can leave it alone. Better get back before they- who am I kidding this ain't a TV show, they probably already noticed I disappeared.' he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he turned on his heel to leave the alley. 'I should tell Albedo about this if we meet again.'

** _Hokage Residence, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

As Jeff awkwardly shuffled into the main foyer of the Hokage Residence, his thought still on the ragged looking ghost he saw, he was greeted with the sight of two small brown haired kids hugging the legs of both Naruto and Rainbow Dash, the pegasus in question visibly surprised but still not resisting, in fact she seemed to be chuckling. Twilight just smiled from their side resting her chin on her hand.

"Sooo, what'd I miss?" he unintentionally roughly asked, announcing his presence causing the kids to visibly flinch a bit, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and with a raised eyebrow.

"Where were you?!" Rainbow hissed.

"Long story. Lazy to tell." Jeff quickly dismissed her, "Who're the kids?"

However his gruff voice caused the younger kid to hide behind Rainbow's legs, apparently from fear, the bandana decorated with the lower jaw of a skull probably not helping his image in his eyes too much.

"Hanako, Kikuchi, that... is Jeff." Twilight introduced him, with her smile now gone, it quickly replaced with a frown.

"What'd I say?" Jeff asked in surprise, his earlier argument with himself still causing his voice to be 'unstable'. Rainbow just quickly indicated with a couple hand motions to his mouth referring to his voice, but with his earlier exploit in his mind, he did not think too much about it, and just pulled the bandana down, which almost immediately resulted in a facepalm from the now rather human pegasus. "What now?" he asked as his wide smile was available for all to see, not exactly helping his image with the two kids. His awkward actual smile at them much less likely so.

"I figured that when Jeff got back from wherever he was would be the time I tell you, but apparently that was just me hoping." Naruto let out a lengthy sigh as he put a hand to his forehead, "Hanako, Kikuchi, these three are all Albedo's friends."

"B-b-b-big brother Albedo's?!" Hanako could barely manage to contain her apparent excitement as she fumbled over words and apparently forgot the fear, she was probably feeling with Jeff around. Even going as far as to run up to the monochrome man from next to Naruto. "Is that really true?! I-is he-"

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down kid." Jeff extended both hands in what almost appeared to be self-defense, "First of all, are you really okay?"

"Y-yeah, sorry about that." Hanako sheepishly apologized, "It was just... Sudden."

"Figures." Jeff shrugged.

"Does that hurt?"

"Hurt?" Jeff grinned, reinforcing the permanent smile, "Oh, this? Nah kid, never did." but still even if that was a half lie, as if it was more for personal comfort he pulled the bandana back up to cover his face, "Anyhow to answer your other question, no he's not here."

As a response, both the children almost comically deflated upon the mention that their 'big brother' was not actually around.

"We got separated." Jeff further explained, as Hanako looked back up at his blue eyes looking at hers, "But he told me a lotta things about ya two." he chuckled, "Lotta nice things. As I can see, you two are really found of _those_ two huh?" he briefly looked up at the girls.

"T-they're really nice." Kikuchi meekly spoke up, though since he was still behind Rainbow's legs, he wasn't so convincing.

"Oh yeah they are." Jeff nodded as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Glad you two got off on a better foot than with me. But believe me, I'm 'nice' too. 'T just depends on your views is all."

"Gee, bein' real convincing there Jeff." Rainbow rolled her eyes in what appeared to be aggravation. "Real nice."

"Yeah. I know. Tis one of me charms." he posed rather stupidly, finally eliciting a chuckle from even the shy Kikuchi.

"Huh, so you're not a total muscle head." Twilight teased.

"I'll have you know I hav- _had_ a brother y'know." he pouted as his joke took a toll even on himself, though the two girls looked sad at his brief pause in the middle. He let out a sigh as he composed himself and turned to Naruto, "Anyways, how's it going with Kakashi? Think I got one more thing to tell 'im no-"

Out of nowhere a multitude of screams could be heard from outside the building as Jeff's shoulders sank, his face drooped and he almost felt like he was punched repeatedly in the gut with a sledgehammer... again. 'Me and my laidback atti- no screw that.'

"Oh me and my goddamn mouth!" he pulled down the bandana again, this time to intentionally reveal his obviously psychotic grin and it almost looked like his pupils shrank.

"That's a swear!" Hanako chipped in suddenly, knocking Jeff out of his groove.

"O-oh. Uh. Um. Sorry about that, kid." he awkwardly said before reaching into his hoodie's front pocket to pull out his trusty kitchen knife, still without any stains or rust despite its age and constant... _use_.

"Something you want to tell us?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow as if she was disappointed, not exactly the first time something like this happened with her either.

"Maybe, maybe not-" he shrugged as he ran outside to confront whatever it was that was causing a commotion, " _Fighty first, talky later!_" he shouted from outside, apparently loud enough for him to still be heard.

Naruto just let out a sigh. "Dealing with Albedo's friends is always gonna be this tiring huh?" he weakly smiled as he started to go after him, "Hanako, Kikuchi, could you do me a favor and tell sensei the nutshell version?"

"You got it big bro!" Hanako chuckled as Naruto ran outside and the two kids ran up a nearby set of stairs.

"Oh, you _know _I'm not missing out of the action!" Rainbow grinned as she ran outside as well, leaving Twilight alone who only just pinched her nose in frustration.

She let out a sigh, "Let's just see who this Hokage person is..." she muttered to herself as she followed the two kids up the sets of stairs.

** _Outside_ **

"Aight, dafuq is causing the comm-" Jeff was about to ask as he cut himself off upon noticing the intruder. Or rather, intruder _s_, as he was now face to face with a large pack of Loboans. 'Loboans? Wait, no, I mean yeah, I mean... AAARGH' he ruffled his hair suddenly as his roar continued out loud too, "You're not wearin' clothes! Why're ya not wearin' any damn clothes?!" Jeff shouted repeatedly, to any other person appearing like someone with weird priorities, "Wait, then that means you're just some minion caste or whatever... ** _In that case_**..." he let out a quiet laughter, that slowly rose in intensity and sound.

"Friends of yours?" Rainbow asked with an annoyed glare and a raised eyebrow, somehow instantly shutting Jeff up, much to her weird discomfort. 'How did that work..?'

"Nah, but I sure as hell know where they came from." Jeff admitted, "When I disappeared just now? I saw the portal again, thought I could leave it alone since we sure as hell didn't need to have anything to do with the dimension it would've taken us too, but apparently that was stupid."

" _Apparently?!_" Rainbow snapped.

"Okay, okay, geez, this is why I'm usually _not _the one to make the decisions."

"Wait, wait, wait, aren't those guys that wolf alien Albedo turned into back then? A Loboan or what was it? Doesn't that mean..?" Naruto joined them as he noticed their opponents, worry apparent on his face.

"Nah don't worry about that." Jeff dismissed him, much to the surprise of the ninja, "This ain't any kind of invasion. Ya see, I might not be from that world but I know, Loboans are a sapient species. They have a sense of shame, they wear clothes and all. Ergo, unless this is some weird fucked up fetish, these guys are not actual Loboans, just some kind of summoned creature. Minions to a greater evil, or whatever fancy."

"Right, now that you mention it that makes sense... Somewhat." he then recalled a detail he just now learned, "That's a thing you didn't really mention just now."

"What? That I'm not from Albedo's world? I thought you deduced that already?"

"How would I have-"

"I told you that to me you were a TV show, but as I recall Albedo didn't really know anythin' about you lot did he?"

"I mean, I gue-"

"Guys, angry wolfmen?" Rainbow chipped in, getting Naruto cut off for the second time in the row as he only just pouted.

"How much should I hold back against these things then?"

"How much do ya want the village wrecked? 'Sides, why you askin' me, how the hell should I know?" Jeff snapped with a forceful shrug as he once again started grinning, "Just hack and slash until they stop movin'!" he cackled as he charged ahead.

"Note to self, not to piss off Jeff." both Rainbow and Naruto added that small thought to their mental journals as the smaller scale fight began, well 'fight' might have been pushing it, with who the minions were opposing this was more like an easy clean up. Naruto just tried his best not to use too many structure damaging skills, whilst interestingly a large pair of blue wings manifested on the back of Rainbow as she took to the sky once more, in a matter of seconds causing a grin to pop up on her face.

"Jeff! Either that thingy is defective or we figured out something nice!" she called out.

"Huh, whatcha' me-" Jeff raised an eyebrow as he turned around only to see Rainbow dive by her and charge a smaller group of the Loboan minions, her sheer speed sending them flying, "Huh, would ya look at that?" he grinned as he effortlessly threw his knife... _which exploded the head of one of the Loboans _into some sort of purple goo as the knife returned to his hand without any sort of logic to it soon after. "Phew, that was a close gamble." he muttered, as if this was all natural by this point, but not quiet enough for Naruto not to hear him.

"That was a gamble?!"

"Eh, bite me. I thought they weren't real, but I wasn't sure, now we are sure, can we get back to pulverizing bad dogs please?" he let out a chuckle, "Before I do more than needed?"

Naruto took that as a cue to speed up their fight, from the small bit of worry visible on Jeff's face, the ninja picked up on the fact that he more than likely was not actually joking about 'doing more than needed' this time. "You got it." he nodded as they started beating up or straight up destroying whoever came their way, well whoever came from the portal before it closed that is.

** _Inside the TARDIS, Ledgerdomain_**

**_Albedo_ **

Charmcaster's hands were surrounded in a magenta aura as she floated in the middle of the TARDIS' Control Room, her eyes closed tight. She was working quite hard on figuring out where exactly their friends might have been. All the while her two companions were eerily quiet, watching her work intently, especially the long lived Gallifreyan. He did not exactly want to stare, but could not help himself, as even though he has seen his newfound equine companions use magic numerous times, something about the magic of the girl in front of him was plenty different.

'You seem quite intrigued.' the sudden voice in his head seemed to shake the Doctor's attention as he worriedly turned towards Albedo, which soon turned into a scowl.

'I would have appreciated a heads-up before you suddenly started speaking in my head.' he declared in his mind with a sigh, not that surprised by this by this point, as Albedo just apologized with gestures 'But yes, I _am_ in fact intrigued by her unique control of magic.' he mused, ''Ms. Most-Powerful Sorceress' eh?'

'I would know if I was exaggerating.' Albedo chuckled inwardly, 'But it _is_ a fact that she is especially powerful, especially within the confines of this strange world, however as you know that is detrimental in the long run.'

'I'm just glad the TARDIS can keep her safe in that case.' the Doctor admitted, 'Still, are you two certain this will work?'

'Of course!' Albedo grinned widely, 'This is how we got home from our first unwanted excursion as well, although there were a multitude of complications after that.' he sighed, 'Thankfully none of those a result of this method. Unfortunately, it does take some time, and even upon finding them we must take dimensional times into account.'

'Dimensional... times?' the Doctor asked with wide eyes.

'Yes, it might sound weird or unusual, but each dimension seems to have its own time as well. Just as minutes on Earth can amount to several days on Ledgerdomain, a multitude of dimensions have a different time to us as well, kind of like time travel in a way. Some world might even be faster than ours, however that is a semi-inaccurate information sadly.'

'Semi-inaccurate?'

'Indeed, whilst that _is_ true in a sense, sadly we have confirmed that the portal is capable of opening itself in different times, like with the world of Slenderman. Jeffrey comes from that world as well and we 'recruited' him two days after Slenderman coming along, whilst in that world two whole years have passed unfortunately. I have yet to determine how it decides where and when it wants to open. I only know that it seems to completely disregard the laws of time... It really just does whatever it pleases.'

'You're speaking as if this portal was-'

'Sapient? Maybe so.'

'That's rubbish.' the Doctor declared hastily, 'But... At the same time, I am more and more inclined to believe it with what you have already shared with me.' he let out an audible sigh, 'What have I gotten myself into this time?'

'A mess.' Albedo responded simply with a shrug. 'A big one at that. Nonetheless, I at least guarantee a 'fun ride' as Benjamin would say.'

As the two shared a laugh, on the outside only smiling, Charmcaster's hands stopped glowing as she slowly descended onto her legs, then quickly clutched her head as her eyes opened. She seemed quite exhausted, upon noticing this Albedo quickly ran over to her to have her use his shoulder as support.

"There, I got you." he said with a smile.

"Thanks." Charmcaster smiled as she stabilized herself, "But... I don't know what to tell you."

"Huh?"

"I... I found some _thing_ that's similar to Twilight... But I don't think it's her. The magic of the mana was not an exact match. Almost like she was... further than where I detected her. I don't know how to describe it exactly." she declared as she clenched her fist, "We can try but-"

"Hey, it's a start." the Doctor spoke up, though his expression was full of worry at the revelation, "At least you know what we're looking for, we can continue this search." he gently added, "But there's no way we are not checking out whatever this is."

"Of course!" Albedo nodded before frowning, "Doctor, are you alright? You look worried all of the sudden. Do you... have an idea about whatever it is Hope could have found?"

"I... I think I do, and I do not like one part of it." the Doctor admitted with a sigh, "That is, if it _is_ what I am thinking about. I'll tell you in detail if my suspicious are confirmed. I truly hope they will not be."

"I see. I understand, thank you for sharing." the Galvan nodded honestly, "Hope, if I could ask you to input the location?"

"Yeah, okay."

"And after that you rest."

"I-" she immediately stopped once she noticed Albedo was looking at him with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow, "And after that I rest." she gave in with a small smile.

"Good. Now, let us set off."

** _About 20 minutes later_**

**_Inside the TARDIS, Somewhere under the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

"The Amazon Rainforest?!" Albedo could not stop himself from audibly snapping upon noticing the letters once again.

"What?!" the Doctor looked at a nearby panel in a shock upon the strange exclamation only to realize he was right, "How did you-"

"Yeah, how-" Charmcaster joined in before Albedo just raised a finger, pointing above them, as she immediately did a silent 'Aaah' motion with her mouth.

"I shall tell you both later, but for now we have to figure out _why_ we are where we are. As we know Hope found something resembling Ms. Sparkle's mana signal around here, Doctor, mind telling us if you find anything that would affirm your suspicions?" he immediately changed the subject, using plural to not cause suspicion in the Doctor.

The Doctor let out a sigh in response, hoping it wouldn't come to be "Of course."

"Great, at least we have an inkling, however bad it might be, but then the other point, why would her mana signature appear on one of the possible Earths out there, and _why_ in the Amazon Rainforest?! What is so special about this place in regards to magic?"

"Why are you so freaked out right now?" Charmcaster worriedly looked at him.

"Because, dear Hope, if the Rainforest is somehow significant in a magical value, or some other way, should dear old Clyde dabble in the occult back home, because he seems like the person to be 'above' simple magic, I fear our world's version of this place would be in danger."

"Fair point and all..." Charmcaster nodded, "But how do you know this is not our world?"

"We are four years in the future, as opposed to time being stopped, and my thought link with Slenderman is not present." the Galvan explained, "I think that is a fair conclusion."

"Alright. So when were you gonna tell me about half the things you just shared with the group?" she looked more disappointed than hurt as she put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"...Sometime?" he awkwardly answered with a halfhearted shrug, only to get a glare, "Alright, alright I shall admit I am not the best at 'sharing', but you will have to forgive me if our situation did not exactly allow for that to transpire, nonetheless currently I think we can all agree we have bigger concerns."

"For now." Charmcaster gave in reluctantly, "But this isn't over."

"I would not think it is." Albedo admitted, "Now come along Doctor, we shall-"

However as the white-haired alien giddily opened the doors of the time machine, they were greeted by various edges of pickaxes and spears being shakingly pointed towards their heads. At the ends of such finely crafted tools and weapons, were people of a short stature, muscly build and, in Albedo's opinion, very bushy beards. Some of them with goggles on their heads, some with wearable loupes, others shirtless with just as much hair on their short bodies as their face, the only ones with less facial hair could undeniably be the female part of this group, but nonetheless they all shared a common trait, they appeared terrified.

"I am going to go out on a limb here and say we are not welcome." Albedo declared awkwardly.

** _Let me just start off by saying that obviously there is no real way to justify my absence. I wrote in the end of the last chapter that I hoped the next part would come fast, that was now (_****_five)_****_ eight months ago. The only real reason I can mention is our overarching situation I'm sure I don't need to remind any of you about, and later on my exams. Now I should be free, for how long, I cannot say, I should be but I still can't really provide a steady schedule. I'll try to update as much as I can, that's all I can say. _ **

** _This chapter has been rewritten so many times to allow passage to the next one that at this point I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied with it, but nonetheless this seems like the version I am most pleased with, so for the time being it shall be. Albedo is somewhat starting to act like a certain other immortal who has kept secrets from their group and once they got to light no one was happy, however in his defense, his secrets are not that life rending... On the other hand, a certain sorceress is keeping to herself about a certain matter a bit too much in our current scenario. Either way, I hope this little arc will be satisfying to all of you come the next update. For now, I'll go._ **

**_Before upload update: I almost could not give you these chapters because the uploader on PC is utterly broken and won't recognize any of my documents. Thankfully there is an app for everything now. So, if there are some formatting issues I cannot address currently, it's because of this._**


	7. Ghost White and the Seven or so Dwarves

Chapter 7: Ghost White and the Seven or so Dwarves

** _Somewhere under the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

** _ Albedo_ **

"I am going to go out on a limb here and say we are not welcome." Albedo declared awkwardly, his eyes darting all around him in the room, as they found themselves surrounded by a multitude of pointy and blunt objects in shaking hands pointed straight at their necks, in the forms of pickaxes, shovels and surprisingly after the other two, spears of various sizes and makes in the hands of what could undeniably be a group of dwarves, if the Galvan's knowledge on fantasy books was to be believed, consisting at first glance roughly of a group of twelve individuals. Or at least, even if he would turn out to be wrong the former Galvan could not be convinced otherwise. 'Not good, I am once again growing my own ego. Got to get some advice about this from someone that is not Benjamin.' he mentally chided himself and jabbed at his friend as he forced a small smile despite their situation, "Now, please, let us be civil about this ladies and gentlemen." he started in the most calming voice his current temper allowed him. If anything, he knew that his temper nowadays was the one thing he did not like to play with.

"So much for 'resting'." Charmcaster grumbled under her breath in anger with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms whilst doing so.

"W-who are you? How did you get in here?" one of the dwarves in the front, with a long brown beard, going past his chest, and matching bushy eyebrows, undeniably acting as the leader asked from Albedo, still not letting his spear drop from his throat. Although, if one were to look closely, they could see his hands were shaking just as much as all the others'.

"Hello, greetings. My name is Albedo, this young lady here is called Charmcaster, and my young companion over there is called the Doctor. As much as it may come as a surprise, we came here with this box." he stated matter-of-factly as he pointed behind him, completely disregarding his conversational partners' shock at his ludicrous claim as, well, he was continuing nonchalantly, "And as I have already stated, I would like us to uphold a normal conversation, without these useless things in the way." he added as he gently but firmly grabbed hold of the tip of the spear with two fingers and pulled it away from his throat effortlessly, apparently greatly surprising the dwarven warrior in front of him. "As such, I think introductions are necessary for a working relationship of any kind, would you not say? On that note, I do think it is your turn now, yes?" he asked with a smile, as the leader's shoulders seemed to relax for a bit causing Albedo to smile just a little bit wider, for he knew that he has succeeded once more. Charmcaster just shook her head at his smug smile, she has seen this little charade countless times in their travels together, whilst the poor Doctor was once again as confused as ever at the sudden change in the atmosphere.

'Why does no one trust _me_ that easily?' he childishly mused in his thoughts. He soon after crossed his arms with a similarly childish pout to accentuate it, this however only lasted for a couple seconds before he just snickered a bit.

"M-me name's Orwell." the dwarf introduced himself, putting his spear beside him and pulling his goggles above his eyes so his hazel eyes were now clearly visible as he locked them with Albedo's crimson ones, "Orwell Kingsley. I apologize fer the rough treatment an' all, 's just... We're all _really_ on edge right now and you appearin' outta nowhere didn't he-" his eyes went wide as his right hand slowly went to his mouth.

"No, no, do not worry, I understand, I probably would have been surprised as well." his smile not faltering he continued as he picked up on the shocked face of Orwell, "No need for worry my friend, I am told I can be quite persuasive." Albedo chuckled at that as if he was answering his shock as he extended a hand to calm the situation as much as he could, "On a serious note though, as I have said I do understand your concerns, and I would like to apologize for showing up unannounced as well. We seem to have business here... But as much as I would like to hurry that along and get us on our way, it would weigh heavily on my conscience to just leave as soon as we have arrives as it would seem like you all are more than just 'on the edge'."

"Y-yeah, I ain't gon' lie, that's true." Orwell nodded, awkwardly rubbing his head, as he turned the cap on his head backwards, "An' for some odd reason an' all, I kinda wanna tell you about it, since you seem eager to help an' all that, but this place ain't too safe. No scratch that, nowhere aroun' here is really safe anymore. Come on, I know a place where we can talk."

"I see. Lead the way then." Albedo beamed, as the other dwarves kept their eyes on him all the while, more and more surprised at how their apparent leader relaxed way too fast about this situation, or at least that's what it seemed like to Albedo, though their concerns unbeknownst to them soon started fading away as they saw the smile the former Galvan gave them.

"He... He defused that situation way too fast. It's unnatural." the Doctor whispered to Charmcaster in utter bewilderment as he closed the doors of the TARDIS, and once everyone turned around put it one second out of sync, making it promptly disappear out of sight.

"Yeah, I dunno really how much he told you about our four month expedition of sorts, but we realized somewhere along the way that with some specific facial motions and all, plus a little bit of Horseman voodoo, he can make anyone trust him without question, helps hurry the situation along, just like now."

"Horseman..?"

"Yeah, you know... _Death_." Charmcaster nodded with a small shrug at the confused Time Lord, "I mean if you think about it in detail enough, when the time comes for you to go, would you want to be scared of the Reaper?" she asked as the two quickened their pace to follow the group, the Doctor quickly getting lost in his thoughts at the brought up concept.

** _Remnants of a Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

The group of dwarves lead the trio into a smaller alcove, visibly man made, on one side of a larger cavern nearby to their arrival point. Albedo looked around with awe at the plethora of mining utensils ranging from pickaxes and shovels hanging on the walls and some lying around, to lamps and simple torches lighting up cave maps on a nearby table. It was like all those legends he has read about, back when Bellwood was a normal place, come to life. Legends about dwarves and their obsession with mining and blacksmithing. Well, the word 'obsession' might have been pushing it a tad bit, it was rather a passion.

"Feel free ta take a seat, not that there's much of those left." Orwell gently offered, though he could not help but sigh.

"Now then," Albedo started after taking the dwarf up on his offer, clapping his hands together, "What did you want to talk with us about Orwell?"

"Right, well..." the dwarven leader let out a short sigh as he adjusted his goggles on his head, scratched his head and took of his cap before he began, "Ya might not believe me, some humans don't really believe in all this-"

"Humans in this world know of your existence?" Albedo blurted in surprise, only to realize seconds later how that must have sounded, but he could not help that he was more than intrigued by it.

"This... _world_?" Orwell raised an eyebrow in equal surprise, much to Albedo's chagrin.

'Of course he would catch on.' he inwardly sighed. 'I would have been sad if he did not.' he chuckled upon adding the second part.

"Ya mean to tell me that ol' phone box of yers..?" the seemingly old looking dwarf's eyes shone and almost sparkled at the concept.

"Not _mine_ per se, but yes. That phone box is precisely what we used to come to this world. In ours, dwarves... do not really exist beyond fiction. So, you can understand that your surprise is mutual, albeit for vastly different reasons. On that particular note though, I am more surprised you deduced that fact from my simple mishap with words."

"Son, I'm a dwarf." Orwell looked offended before he chuckled and proudly put his thumb to his chest, "I'd be quite a bit disappointed in meself if I didn't recognize it or at least start speculatin' 'bout it. After all, you lot appeared outta thin air. Not much else ta think of 'sides that thing. 'Sides, new tech is always intriguin' for us 'techy' folk."

"Fair point. Also, preaching to the choir there my friend."

"One of us yourself I see!" the dwarf belted out in a short winded laughter, "Then again, you seem ta know some stuff about dwarves considerin' we don' exist for ya." he added with another laugh, "Ya do readin' time?"

"Only in my free time. Whenever I happen to have any." Albedo admitted with a chuckle, relieved that the atmosphere changed thanks to Orwell's friendly banter. "Do not take this the wrong way in any shape or form, but... Is _this_ all of you?" he asked indicating to the roughly dozen other dwarves around them besides the goggle sporting leader. "You seem to be a group of miners if I had to guess, and with the number of tools lining the walls, just twelve of you feels quite... _sparse_. Unless you all are rather wasteful with your tools." he joked.

"No... No son it really ain't." Orwell let out a sigh, "Or at least it wasn't. We're a minin' group from the England area, assumin' you know what England is?"

"Yes, not cause for worry, from my understanding only the races are the specific difference between our worlds." Albedo reassuringly answered, hoping that for once the dwarf would not catch on that they have not talked about races at all, "On that note however, England is not exactly close neighbors with Amazonas and this rainforest, how come there were more of you around?"

"Teleporters son." Orwell proudly pounded his chest, Albedo somewhat glad he did not pick up that he also casually revealed that they knew where they were, "Our own make and model." he awkwardly sighed, "Gettin' here for the first time was ta bigger problem. Especially since that thing ain't exactly featherweight."

"Haha, I can imagine that." Albedo laughed as well, to the dwarf's surprise not even shocked by the concept of teleporters.

"Huh, most humans are not exactly caught up on dwarven tech." he crossed his arms with a grin, "I'm likin' that ya _an'_ your world know your stuff." his expression turned grim, "However, back on topic... We're... No, more like we _were_ a minin' group of over a hundred before we came 'ere."

"A hundred?!" the Doctor snapped, "Are they all-"

Initially surprised by the young man's outburst, Orwell quickly regained his vigor as he answered, "Ah, I really hope not." he shook his head, "Last I saw them lot they were just taken away or... just separated from us. I hope to all that's holy that nothin' actually happened to my team since then. I'm not even the head of this expedition, poor sap got caught too. I'm just the fill-in in case things go south, which they obviously did without a doubt."

"Taken..?" Charmcaster raised an eyebrow, "Why do I have a funny feeling about this?"

"Yeah lassie, that's where things get funky."

"'Funky'... how, exactly?" Albedo raised an eyebrow as he rested his chin on his crossed hands.

"I'm not exactly sure if ya'll believe me but-"

"Oh believe me _we've/we have_ seen enough weird things to not be surprised anymore." the Doctor and Albedo declared in eerie unison as both the sorceress' and leader's eyes went wide in surprise at their synchronization. The only ones not actually surprised, were the two themselves, strangely enough.

"O-oh, if you say so." Orwell shrugged, to his own admittance, he was going along with things quite easily, however he couldn't admit to his team that he was stressed beyond belief so this talk was actually helping him relax quite a bit, "Anyhow, t'was about three weeks or so ago, maybe? A couple days after we arrived ta actually start minin' and all." he scratched his head in apparent confusion, masking his overarching feelings of worry, "At first everythin' went along swimmin'ly. We started on schedule and were actually makin' pretty good progress."

"Apologies for the interruption, but let me guess the next more than likely important step." Albedo interrupted, once again to the surprise of the dwarf, "Did a blue oval shaped portal of a random size open somewhere in the mine?"

"How did-" Orwell's eyes went wide, before letting out a knowing sigh, "That the reason yer here?"

Albedo only let out a sigh of his own as his fears have now been confirmed, "Part of the reason. You see, a part of our group has been sent to a random location by that... _thing _a couple hours ago, and we are now in a hopeless goose chase in trying to find them. This was the first location that popped up in our search, however as it so appears it is not without reason. Even if that reason is not our friends' whereabouts." he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Please, continue."

"Of course." Orwell nodded, acknowledging their pained reactions at the portal, assuming it to be more than a one-time problem, which made him scrunch his eyebrows up in thought as well, "As dat thing opened, it took barely five minutes for these large bipedal wolf lookin' things to just flood the room the portal thingy appeared in. Kinda like all those folktales about werewolves. Haven't actually seen a live one yet so can't exactly compare, but I'd imagine they were quite similar, Anyhow, they started attackin' our coworkers but we proved to be tougher, for that brief moment at least, and we did consequently manage ta flee the room without any serious injuries... But they just kept comin' and comin'. And that thing didn't close at all, not for a week at least."

"It stayed open for a week?!" Albedo was visibly surprised, causing the Doctor to jump as well, "That was unprecedented before, this... This is an unpleasant development, I apologize for my outburst."

"Nah, nah, I get it. This must be important for you guys as well. If your reaction is anything to go by." Orwell waved his hands dismissively, "We kept the things back until they seemed to learn not to leave their part of ta cave, so for a spell we went back to work, not seeing any alternatives as the teleporter wasn't set up yet, and still isn't, but I suppose that doesn't matter now."

"Don't tell me..." Charmcaster clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Yeah lassie, those blasted things wrecked it to bits. We were effectively stranded, without an option to call for help doin' our best ta keep our guards up... Not our brightest idea to say the least, goin' back to continue the work I mean. It was a stress thing really, helped take our minds off if anythin'." he let out a sigh, "They surrounded us in one of the alcoves soon after the whole initial meetin', forced a good half of the group into cages and just carried them off effortlessly whilst the others held us down, then they just... left."

"That's... Odd." the Doctor commented, trying to wrap his mind around a possible reason, though he also started thinking about what sort of creatures these wolf like ones were supposed to be. Albedo's mind was also going into overdrive.

"Odd is a bit of an understatement there Doc." Orwell sighed, "'Specially since this wasn't even ta worst part of it all. Once half our crew got taken, our boss understandably got thinkin' of mountin' a rescue op." he shook his head, "We thought we could just overpower them. That was naive."

"Stress and fear are some terrifying factors in decision making, I understand that. Was that when the rest of your crew besides you lot were taken?" the Doctor inquired between his musings.

"Yup, but probably not the way you'd expect." Orwell visibly clenched one of his fists, "We had the plan set up an' everythin', it was hasty, and it shouldn't've worked but it did, for the most part too... But then, just as we were about to spring the crew, it... no _he_ appeared and it all went south."

"By 'he' I assume you mean a leader figure?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Think so yeah." the dwarf nodded eagerly, "But, bear with me on this, he wasn't one of those wolf creature thingies. He was a, uh, how do I make this sound believable..? Aaargh, he was a ghost alrite?! A damned ghost of all things!"

The eyes of both the Gallifreyan Time Lord, and the former-Galvan reaper went wide at the revelation, however for marginally different reasons. The Doctor would have been quick to dismiss whatever this creature was to be an actual ghost, however Albedo on the other hand made a lot more terrifying of a connection. 'Wolf creatures that mindlessly follow orders... And now a ghost..? Oh joy and elation.'

"Orwell, I apologize for all my sudden outbursts and actions, and especially for what I am about to do-" Albedo spoke up suddenly.

"Huh?" was all the miner could mutter in silent horror before the boy in front of him suddenly changed, much to everyone's surprise in the room, safe for his companions.

"Did those wolf creatures look similar to this one?" he asked in a deeper more growly voice, his still crimson eyes boring into him.

"Y-yeah! Exactly like thi-" Orwell declared once again stopping himself midsentence once he realized that something was making him speak without fear again.

"I was afraid of that." Albedo shook his head in disappointment rather than shock as he turned back and reached for his phone in his pocket, "In that case, I suppose the ghost creature was at least similar to... _him_?" he asked as whilst he spoke he brought up the former Plumber database, which he so graciously borrowed during his rescue of Magister Tennyson, about alien criminals, only to stop at the entry for one notorious Ectonurite, one who was a familiar annoyance and source of fear to both Albedo and Ben respectively, one who went by the name Zs'Skayr. 'Still quite on the nose.' Albedo mused in his thoughts.

"Yeah!" Orwell ecstatically nodded again, before he raised an eyebrow "But, the one we saw was more, um, green rather than this purple guy." he scratched his head, "Someone ya know?"

"In that case, it appears not."

"Huh?"

"I meant that in the sense that we do not know this version of him. The one I showed you is a notorious creature criminal back home, infamous in many parts of our galaxy for a multitude of terrible acts... But as it appears the one we are dealing with is not the one from our world."

"Ah lord, parallel worlds as well?" Orwell asked in disbelief, clutching his head as Albedo turned back, "For god's sake, we're a group of miners, how did we get to this point?"

"On one hand, I _am_ glad I do not have to explain that part. On the other, I am uncertain if I like that fact."

"Ah, ya know our group head I mentioned? He does da minin' thing as a hobby, in fact most of us do. Dwarven nature, can't really help it, really gets ta blood pumpin'. On the side we really like to dabble with a boat load of tech an' brainstorm different ideas. The concept of parallel worlds came up numerous times... But quite honestly, none of us expected this whole mess to ever happen."

"That I can imagine." Albedo nodded, "On the topic of wolves, I do have a question, did they use any specific means of attacking?"

"Not that I remember, not besides brute force dat is."

"Oh, really?" Albedo was visibly surprised at that, which quite honestly, at this point, unnerved Orwell.

"I-is that weird?"

"You see these creatures are called Loboans, they are what, at least back home, started the legend of werewolves... That is until real werewolves were discovered to exist, but that is beside the point right now," Albedo started as Charmcaster's eyes went wide in silence and she stared at him in shock, she has heard Orwell casually mention werewolves a while ago but that was expected in a world with dwarves, however this casual reveal of their own world really did not sit right with her, "They have a multitude of abilities, like the ones who have restrained you demonstrated. And however much it pains me to say they could have easily taken care of a group of your size without a struggle."

"W-what..?" Orwell's face went wide in shock, "How?"

"Loboans have an interesting ability to open up their specialized muzzle and produce sonic howls. Without sapient control, at the worst they could have simply exploded your heads. The fact that this did not happen largely means two things, either their leader, this parallel version of Zs'Skayr, specifically wants your friends alive... Or that they are simply incapable of it in the first place."

"Sapient?" Orwell questioned, "I see, I'm pretty sure it's da second option then. Those guys didn't even utter a word durin' the whole thing, nor did they really seem to care when we cut or hit them. They just stared at us blankly and continued to fight."

"So they _are _but mindless minions. Good to know." Charmcaster nodded with a slight grin that didn't go unnoticed by the former Galvan.

"Now the only question that remains is: Why exactly would this ghost alien want to kidnap your men, right?" the Doctor asked.

"Was there something specific you were mining for?" Albedo asked.

"Not that we know of, unless the higher ups didn't tell us, or unless this mine has more secrets ta hide than a normal one." Orwell shook his head, "We came here to discover anythin' interesting, this was the first expedition here in this mine in this world."

"So we're in the dark again, great." Charmcaster let out a frustrated sigh.

"Not necessarily." Albedo shook his head with a smile. "We know where our unfriendly neighborhood ghost is currently located right?"

"Yup, dat we do." the dwarven leader nodded.

"And if he is anything like the one back home, we can more than likely keep him monologuing enough to learn of his plans, like any good B grade villain. Or at least, Benjamin can."

"Uh yeah, one little detail with that plan bro, you're not Ben."

"Not yet." Albedo chuckled.

"ohno" Charmcaster, mimicking Ben's latest reactions to Albedo's antics, hastily declared in a low monotone. "What exactly are you planning?"

"You know how I can transform right?" Albedo lead on, "And that I do not require a device to do so? Well, recently I have come to discover I can also simply just alter my DNA, like when I evolve a form. As such, behold!" within a matter of seconds, Albedo's hair turned brown, his eyes turned green and his skin tone darkened just a bit, "Ta-da!"

"Wait, what?!" Charmcaster asked in surprise with the biggest grin plastered on her face, "That's really damn handy."

"That it is, albeit a bit costly to my mental stability with prolonged usage." Albedo nodded in response, "It is such a shame that clothing does not work the same way." he pouted as he indicated to his still red jacket as if leading the sorceress on.

"Oh that much I can fix." Charmcaster smugly declared, missing the obvious provocation for the moment, as her hands started glowing a magenta color, and in a matter of seconds in the place of Albedo now stood 'Ben'. No one could make a difference on sight, well no one who knew who Ben was that is.

"Ya kno' wat? I ain't even surprised anymore." Orwell just shrugged at this point, a small smile already on his face in amazement.

"Not to burst your bubble or anything, but if you can and could change the clothes with magic, why did you not just use that from the start, or better yet ask for a perception filter?"

"Ah, yes, of course you do not know, my apologies." Albedo smiled.

"I don't know what?"

"Ectonurites, in our world at least, you see, cannot be fooled by perception altering devices or magic. It is their natural composition that prevents them from doing so, well perception altering on anything sapient that is. Magic itself works, but nothing that would alter perception. That is why for the clothing it was perfectly fine to rely on Hope's magic, but if we just used that on me, or as you suggested a perception filter, our dear friend would have recognized it immediately."

"Oh, I see. I guess it even makes sense somewhat. A ghostly being I can imagine having trouble being fooled by such things."

"Do not try to make sense of anything related to our world, your brain will not like it." Albedo chuckled, then turned back to Orwell, "You see, the person I am currently disguised as is someone your ghostly menace hates beyond belief, or at least he does back home, so if this one is anything alike, we can agitate him. Yes, I do know I just changed colors, do not worry about the finer details."

"Right, right, I won't." Orwell chuckled, "I don' think I could anymore either. Anyhow, ya sure you can get 'im to talk?"

"If anything it is worth a try. And if in doing so we can send him back to his own sorry world and rid you of a major problem. What do you say? Trust me with this?"

"Son, at this point I don't think I am able to _not_ trust you."

"Funky Horseman magic does that to ya." Charmcaster shrugged with a wiggle of her hands.

"Oh lordy, _the_ Horsemen?" Orwell reached for his head, "No wonder I felt funky ever since ya lot showed up. Ah well, ya live and see things, let's get this done, then we can help ya'll with your own problem."

"I appreciate your vote of confidence, even after learning of the previous fact." Albedo nodded with a small smile as they all stood up, "Alright then, lead me to them and we will take it from there. If things get heated, I would appreciate you all having my back. It might turn into a battle, and you know what they say, 'The more the merrier.' and all that. Should I get a hold of any new information," Albedo closed his eyes, 'I shall relay it to you all in this way.' he suddenly said in everyone's thoughts.

"Right, got it." Orwell and the other dwarves nodded, unperturbed by the sudden voice in their heads. "Let's get this thing started!"

'Do you two think I desensitized them a tad bit too fast?' Albedo worriedly asked of his companions who just outwardly shrugged before he and Orwell departed in one of the tunnels outside of the Outpost's remains.

"You lot are real weird." a female dwarf suddenly spoke up towards Charmcaster and the Doctor amidst a small chuckle.

"Trust me, we know that." she chuckled. "You get used to it after a while." she followed up with a shrug. "After that, weird is your new normal."

** _'Hallway', Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

The duo of dwarf and human slowly made their way through a longer corridor of sorts carved out of the cavern's walls, in utter pressuring silence. Their friends would be more than likely following soon after. Albedo could not blame the dwarf for his silence however. They were in a hurry, and he without a care used his Horseman powers on them to hasten their efforts in finding their friends... But even then, he could not back down after hearing their own situation. 'Guess this would have been a regular Tuesday for Benjamin.' he mused in his thoughts, 'Good thing I at least figured out how to do this manipulative technique a while ago, even if it does leave a bad taste in my mouth.'

"Right, so, big ugly is up ahead." Orwell called out in a whisper to Albedo behind him, "Think you can do it? Whatever it is ya have planned?"

"All I can do is try my friend, and try I will." Albedo shrugged with a still reassuring smile, "Let us get this over with, shall we?" he declared as he cracked his knuckles and walked into the light of the strangely lit cavern.

** _Occupied Cavern, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

Upon entering the room he was immediately greeted by the sight of a good multitude of the Loboan-like creatures all staring blankly at a nearby wall as their apparent target, the sheer number of the fake creatures made the former Galvan do a visible double take. They were quite literally filling the large cavern up to the brim as the alternate Zs'Skayr floated above them, seemingly tinkering with something Albedo could not quite make out. It almost seemed like some sort of strange floating screen, 'Alright, no time to dwell on the details right now. It is showtime! I think.'

"Hey! Nice little army you got here Ghostface! Really spices up the place." He suddenly shouted across the room, utilizing the lowest power of a Sonorosian's throat to help his voice be carried across the entire cavern. "Don't suppose you would be so kind as to... Disappear back to where ever you came from, would you?"

"W-what?!" the ghostly echo of Zs'Skayr's voice was similarly carried across the room as he turned around in apparent surprise. His sickly green second skin was fashioned to look like a cloak which covered his entire face, his black and white body sticking out from under it. It made him look like a green rendition of the Grim Reaper. Albedo could barely hold his snicker at the irony of their meeting, "B-Ben Tennyson?!"

"Yeah? What? You're _that_ surprised to see me Ghost _freak_?" Albedo taunted, "I thought you'd be elated to meet me again, what with trying to kill me so many times?"

"B-but how?!"

"You seriously think I can't find you?" he continued further, "Just try to do something bad without me knowing. You'll see how soon I'm breathin' down your neck."

"**_You should be dead!_**" the ghostly Ectonurite suddenly shouted out, more in despair than in anger, his similarly green eyes filled with shock and horror. However, that one sentence caused Albedo's smile to drop as well, his eyebrows immediately furrowed as his face turned into a snarl before with the last of his willpower, he quite strongly pinched himself behind his back.

'Calm down. Benjamin is fine... Your one is anyway. However whatever world this filth comes from he is not. That much is certain.' he rationalized in his head, 'Be that as it may... That. Is unforgivable.' he sighed, 'No, stop thinking like that, you need information first and foremost. Stay calm. Stay calm.' he clapped his hands together as his cocky imitated grin of Benjamin has returned, "You really think something like _that_ is enough to kill me?" he taunted, however to his chagrin, he absolutely had no idea how this other Ben has actually came to meet his end. All he knew was just the fact that he has perished.

"I-I saw my master rip you to shreds! _TO SHREDS!_ This... This is _impossible_!" the Ectonurite shouted out in desperation, exaggerating with his hands.

"W-wait, what?" Albedo asked in genuine surprise, "You, the 'High Ecto Lord of Anur Phaetos' have a 'master'?" he said both titles mockingly, "And here I thought people can't change, well color me pleasantly surprised."

But, to his surprise the ghostly being just blurted out into an uncontrollable laughter. A laughter that caused the hiding Orwell to shudder in horror and despair, as chills ran down his spine in every direction. It echoing through the cavern halls certainly did not help things.

"You absolute moron! You have no idea who you are dealing with do you?" the ghost taunted as if realizing a secret that wasn't there, his sickly green eyes staring daggers at the former Galvan, "Your watch may have protected you once, but you don't have it anymore do you?! This is all just the typical Tennyson bravado I grew so tired of hearing! Your friends cannot save you now! You have no one to get you out of here... You are pathetic and alone, don't you even realize that?!" he clasped his right hand into a clawed fist, "My master is not someone the likes of you can deal with anyway."

"Oh, is that so?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow as his smile faded, 'Seems like that is sadly it for the information gathering, guess this version hated Benjamin just a _tad_ bit more... Oh well, there is always a next time, we have bigger problems on hand currently.'

"Enough of this pointless chatter. Get him!" the Ectonurite ordered his literal attack dogs to attack the seemingly unarmed human standing in the doorway to the cavern.

"You know what Ghostfreak?" Albedo spoke up still using Ben's alien name for the Ectonurite to taunt it as long as he possibly could, as the Loboan fakes slowly but surely started approaching him from their fair distance, "You're absolutely right, I don't have an Omnitrix anymore. But to quote what you just said, let me just ask..."

"Hah, what?" the ghost haughtily shrugged his way, as if assured that his demise was imminent. "I shall let you say your final miserable words."

"You have no idea who you are dealing with do you?" he calmly asked as in front of the now completely open green eyes of the Ectonurite a bright red light enveloped 'Ben Tennyson'. In his place now stood a creature made of living rock, white fire coursing through the cracks as its wide shoulders erupted with fire, the red symbol on his chest had four spikes protrude out of its side, as his hands now were claws made of pure and beautiful white fire, his elbow joints flaming similarly to his shoulders. It was an evolved Pyronite, a form Albedo has not used in a while, not since the forest incident. He thrust out his clawed hands without an ounce of hesitation, and just as the pack of fake Loboans was about to reach him, both his hands immediately erupted into large whirlpools of white fire, horizontally traveling to meet the pack head on, almost as if the evolved Pyronite brought down the heat of the Sun on the creatures. A heat that was so unbearable, even from his distance, that Orwell was forced to back off quite a bit as the white inferno enveloped everything in the room, not stopping even after melting some of the opposing cavern walls, which incidentally formed a small bit of magma flow which just as surprisingly hardened quite fast after Albedo stopped his onslaught.

As soon as the white whirlpools disappeared all that was left was charred ground and some surprisingly still remaining splotches of grey goo. However, that mattered little to the evolved Pyronite as it locked eyes with the now half burned Ectonurite who only survived by hiding inside a wall in time. He though, already knew that escaping would mean death as well, as his master would not allow failure.

"It is your turn now, coward." Albedo called out in the calmest voice he could produce, yet the Ectonurite could feel the pure malice emanating from each syllable.

However the response to his provocation was just another prolonged laughter that echoed around him, seemingly coming from every direction around him, no doubt a feeble attempt at confusing him. "Do... you really... think that... those were all I had?" a meek ghostly voice echoed from around him again, as if its life was fading away. "You are... not Tennyson, that's... for sure now. However... I'm also sure... that I'll... die if I escape... or if I face you..."

"If you already know that, then make my life easier already you pathe-" the Pyronite shook his head as he let out a sigh, "No, I do not need you, I can handle this." he did not want to accept it by any means... But the more time was passing, the more he was realizing that maybe their observation back in that wasteland world was true and he was developing another 'personality', one that was _violent_.

"Ah-ah-ah." the ghostly voice taunted not recognizing the banter in Albedo's head, "You'll have to deal with _them_ first... Whoever you are."

"What are you blabbering about you- NO... That cannot-" Albedo immediately stopped his sentence as he turned around and realized who the ' _them_' referred to, "On this planet?"

** _Main Hall, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

In the early morning, one of the two young couples currently in the Shelter, that being Ben and Kai, were calmly walking through the long Hallway of the large complex. The two were holding hands, not exactly too keen to separate from each other again, even if it would be for a short while, as Ben has offered to help out and do tasks given to him whilst he was staying at the complex.

"Do we really have to work?" he asked with a groan.

"C'mon Ben, you promised." Kai prodded him on with a smile, "If not for them, do it for me?"

"Now you're just playing dirty." Ben grinned as he gave in and planted a small kiss on her cheek, a small blush briefly flashing across them, "Fine, fine..."

"Is something wrong?" Kai asked in a worried tone, "You're really spacing out."

"O-oh, uh, yeah it's just... I'm worried. Albedo and that Doctor guy have been gone for almost two days now and there's still... Nothing. No news, no updates, just silence."

"Look, I might not know a whole lot about this portal thing yet, so bear with me, but I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that you can't really expect a dimensional search to be over with that quickly. Even if time happens to flow differently wherever they might be."

"Yeah... I guess. You're probably right." Ben nodded, "It's just that Albedo's demeanor has started to worry me lately."

"Worry you how?"

"Well, for starters he has basically started plainly joking around about dying. I... I know he's... He' immortal now, and that in itself is already a big deal I'm struggling to process, but the casual attitude he took up with it all makes me wonder how many times he died exactly. Four months is a really long time for things like that. It's like he's simply desensitized to it all."

"Yeah, gotta admit, that _could_ be a problem... But then again, it also might just be us."

"What do you mean?"

"Just the fact that of course we would have a hard time adjusting to it, after all we're still as mortal as we can be. But, if he himself isn't bothered by it, why not let it rest?"

Ben's eyes went wide at the suggested solution, but with a bit of thought he had to admit, the girl next to him might have been right. Albedo was never scared about his newfound abilities, at least not around him and his friends, he was only interested in the possibilities it presented. It was always him and Albedo's friends as well who seemed to make a big deal about the whole situation.

The hero then let out a lengthy sigh, "You may be right." his eyes then widened in apparent realization, "Wait, even if we drop that topic, there _is_ another problem that was actually worrying him. And to be honest it was worrying me too."

"What is it?" Kai asked with eyebrows raised in concern.

"You see, recently, for whatever reason whenever he would start to get angry, he would soon after fly into an inexplicable rage. A rage that was scaring him and... us." he recalled the memory of the bandits in the wasteland world and what they, or more specifically Albedo, did with them. "It's apparently caused by his powers and his body not cooperating, or at least that's the theory we're going with. Basically we think that even with all his brains working in tandem his body couldn't keep up, so... they are developing a personality of their own to manage the task better." he let out a sigh, "What that means however is that the 'personality' of his backup brain was born of anger, and 'cause of that it's really, and I mean _really_ psychotic."

"That's... That's why you asked if you should go with them?" she asked, catching on.

Initially once again surprised at how perceptive Kai proved herself once again, he just let out a sigh, "...Yeah. I thought someone would need to keep him under control, or at least help him do that. I mean no offense to the Doc but I dunno if he could honestly stop him if he went into a rage. But now that they've taken Hope along, I'm somewhat relieved."

"Oh that's right!" Kai punched her palm as she exclaimed in realization, "Who _is_ this Hope girl you guys kept mentioning? Something about a sorceress?"

"Ah, right, of course. You two haven't met yet." Ben grinned, "Wait a sec," he told her as he reached for his phone in his pocket, soon bringing up his gallery, "There, she is Hope." he exclaimed with a smile as he showed his girlfriend a picture from almost a year ago, aboard their spaceship of him, Kevin, Gwen, Rook and the girl in question, Hope, all smiling goofily at the camera, although the Revonnahgander with a bit more awkward stance than his friends. 'I wonder where you are now Rook... Hopefully you're having more luck than us down here.' he mused for a sec before a sad smile showed on his face upon looking at the picture again, 'This... This was before we met Logan... Haaah, I don't even have a picture with or of him.'

"Wow, she's pretty." Kai commented with a slight whistle, then looked slyly at her boyfriend, "Anything I should know about?" she asked a bit quieter than she intended.

"Yeah, she is. I won't deny that." Ben nodded to Kai's surprise before turning towards her girlfriend with a serious face and said, "And no there isn't, why would there be when I got 'pretty' right next to me?"

Kai suddenly went wide eyed and red in the face in a matter of seconds as she broke out in a laughter, "Oh come on! That was so cheesy!"

"Hey, I'll take cheesy over dishonest." Ben shrugged as his face blushed a bit as well.

"Stoop iit!" Kai playfully pushed him as she accidentally swiped to the next picture, which after a couple seconds made her stop and wipe a tear from her eyes, "Wait... Who is-"

"Huh?" What i-" Ben immediately stopped his own laughter as he stared at the picture on his phone with utter shock, "H-how..?"

"B-Ben?"

The picture in question was depicting a well built for his species Loboan, dressed in a large dark grey hoodie with a white inside to it and black pants doing an awkward peace sign to whoever was taking the photograph. His other hand was behind his head, further enhancing the awkward aura the picture was giving off, but he was still undeniably smiling wholeheartedly. "That's... L-Logan..."

"What?! The one who- But didn't you say you didn't even have pictures..?"

"I... didn't." Ben admitted as he checked image details and looked at the date the picture was taken, only to see that instead of a date it was just depicting all sorts of errors, and the text was appearing all over the place, yet the picture showed up in what would undeniably be the chronological order. He hastily swiped to the next picture as he just suddenly broke down into a somewhat pained laughter as he held his palm over his forehead, some tears slowly dropping from his eyes.

"Ben, what is it..?" Kai asked with worry resounding in her voice, but Ben did not respond so she just took the phone and looked at the picture he stopped on, her heart swelling with a strange feeling of warmth. The picture in question was unmistakably depicting Albedo, in what unmistakably were Ben's old clothes, doing a wink and a thumbs up as he smiled at the camera with the same background as the previous picture, indicating it was undeniably taken on the same ship.

"That cheeky bastard..." Ben smiled as happy tears flowed down his cheeks, "He _would_ go and do something like that."

Kai was smiling as well as she swiped left and let out a slightly loud "Aww."

Ben's curiosity got the better of him, as apparently his phone was taken advantage of whilst he wasn't looking, he turned back towards his girlfriend and walked up from behind her to look at the picture currently displayed on his device. The background was their current hideout's Lounge, facing the large wall with the 'folding' television screen, it depicted Albedo and Charmcaster, as Kai noted now in different clothing than her sorceress' garb, with their arms around each other's shoulders grinning at the camera with a simple text flashed in the middle simply stating 'Sibling Surprise! (Better name pending)'. Upon taking in the picture the couple broke out in a laughter, they themselves putting their arms around each other.

"Those two goofballs are gonna pay for this." Ben chuckled, as he brought Kai closer to him, no doubt for comfort.

"That's a really nice gesture though." Kai commented.

"It really is. I can't be thankful enough for this." Ben admitted.

"Also, this might be insensitive, but... Isn't she also a human? Like us? What's with the whole 'siblings' thing?" Kai awkwardly asked.

"Well, in their words, they 'adopted' each other." Ben explained with a snicker, as he briefly explained all the events leading up to that decision in the lives of the former Galvan and the sorceress.

Kai laughed in response, "So he wasn't joking when they arrived so bombastically." she crossed her arms with a smile, "Yeah, he's less a Galvan and more a second you now." she sighed, "A second you with a major disregard for their own wellbeing."

"Yeah. So just a second me then." Ben nodded along, "On that note, I'd hate to ask you this, but since you're doing such a great job at looking after me-"

"Aaah, I knew this was coming, fine, fine. I'll try my best." she gave in without much struggle with a smile.

"Thanks, you're the best." Ben smiled as he kissed her on the lips.

"I know." she smiled back.

What the two did not take note of in their little talk and with how lost they got in their conversation it was not even a surprise, was the fact that the large doors for the Shelter were opening for the first time since Kai and Wes have arrived. Even then they only noticed that fact once the doors were open enough to make some noise with them moving, causing them to immediately crane their heads up to look at whoever it may have been. Once the doors opened fully, the two saw who their guests were. One of them was a young girl, about two years younger than Ben, with flowing waist length blonde hair and green eyes in a blue and white sleeveless top with blue cargo shorts and boots carrying a large blade on her shoulders, one with a rather pirate like aesthetic to it. Next to him was a slightly older boy with olive skin and mildly spiky mint green hair, his dark blue eyes exuding confidence. He was wearing a brown and white chest armor along with gloves, a pair of grey jeans and brown boots with grey metal reinforcement, in his hand he carried a large overly modified wrench sporting a silver and purple color scheme. They were two people Ben definitely did not expect to see in their current predicament, but he had to admit that they _have_ been missing for quite a while. Well, maybe not missing...

"Ben!" the girl exclaimed in happiness, her serious features immediately shifting into one of joy, "What are you doing here?! We haven't seen you in like forever!"

"Dawn! Calm down, do not rush people out of nowhere!" the boy ran after her to hold her back from literally jumping on Ben. "Besides, you are clearly intruding!"

"Huh, whaddaya-" the girl called Dawn suddenly stopped as she looked to her left and noticed the Navajo girl looking at her in confusion, "Ooooh~. Ben, with a lady? Why don't you introduce us?!" she asked a bit louder than she probably intended.

"Dawn!" the boy's effortless calls seemed to make no progress in making the blonde back off.

Ben just let out a sigh, now realizing that apparently during their first meeting the girl was probably just shy as he remembered her acting a lot more mature, but nonetheless he brought Kai close, "Dawn, Dex, this here is Kai. She's my dear girlfriend." he let the matter hang for a couple seconds, "Kai, this is Dawn and Dex, short for Dexter, the sister and best friend of one of our friends back at base, sadly you two haven't met yet." he explained, "They came from a different world, like Slenderman."

"I see." Kai nodded along as she extended a hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kai Green." she continued with a formal introduction.

"Ben finally got a girlfriend!" Dawn raised her hands up and it seemed like she was going to shout that sentence, but instead she calmly but still excitedly blurted it out.

"Finally?" Kai and Ben turned to each other with raised eyebrows then turned back and asked in a confused unison, knowing they have been together for a while.

"You see, with everything going on around when our world was... still around, Ben didn't really have time for romance." Dex explained with a longing smile on his face, "But... I suppose that doesn't matter now."

Ben remained silent for a couple second, gently pinching Kai's arm and slowly shaking his head to indicate she should not ask right now, before responding, "I... see." he then tried to hastily change the topic, "By the way, where exactly where you two? I haven't seen you since we escaped from the base."

"Oh yeah, about that." Dawn began, "So Gwen thought we were capable enough, which I won't deny, to do recon, so we did, and we've been out and about travelling all around the place seein' if anything was up... And oh boy did we find out some things."

"Don't tell me..." both Kai and Ben responded with a groan.

"If by that you mean that you figured out that somehow the whole Earth is on a reset timer instead of just where this base is, then yeah, we are tellin' ya."

"I mean, we always just said that the 'world' is reset, but to think it was actually true..." Ben sighed. "I hoped that wouldn't be the case."

"Yes, well get ready for the interesting part." Dex chipped in causing the couple to raise an eyebrow, "So, as it turns out, in places where alien influence was low or next to nothing... People are reset as well, or at least their memories are." he revealed with a pained face.

"After Kev fixed up our hovercars we went about to all sorts of different places, including that Russia place and a lot of others, still unfamiliar with it all, but point is wherever we went, even if we booked a hotel or something people acted like they were seeing us for the first time even if we woke up _in_ the hotel."

"Woah, what?!" Kai exclaimed in surprise, "Then how did you guys figure out that it was because of alien influence?"

"So, before we left Kevin gave us a list of places he noted down aliens to have appeared in the past in, mainly the Galvans, to check if they were still around and/or if they needed help. What we found out was that each of those places we visited, people appeared surprised at our arrival."

"Right, since if everything was to reset, no one new should've shown up." Ben nodded.

"They seem to have adapted well enough, but you can imagine places where they had no knowledge of said alien visits they were understandably freaked out." Dex added.

"Great! Another thing to add to the 'Things Clyde messed up!' list." Ben groaned, "And yet here we are, hiding."

"As opposed to a certain someone, we can die if they point the shooty-shooty laser sticks our way." Dawn pointed out, mimicking a machine gun with her hands.

"Right, there's that." Ben chuckled at the young girl's antics. "Anyway, you might wanna report that to Gwen."

"Yeah, sure thing." the girl nodded ecstatically, as she practically dragged the mint haired boy away who silently mouthed 'Help' at the couple who watched them leave.

"Well, they're certainly an odd bunch." Kai chuckled.

"Yeah, the world they came from is kinda tragic. Suppose this is a coping mechanism."

"Mind... sharing?"

"Yeah, sure, c'mon let's go to Gwen's office. I'll tell ya in detail." the girl nodded to his proposition as the two left towards the room for a little morning time story time.

** _Occupied Cavern, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

"What in blue blazes..?!" Orwell called out from his hiding post once he could finally open his eyes as the heat died down, his curiosity being sparked further with the question the creature he formerly knew as Albedo asked in its deep voice. "What the _hell_ are those things?!"

On the other end of the cavern, slowly advancing towards the fire creature, more out of fear than any other reason, were small humanoid beings, their whole bodies dark purple, covered in lighter purple crystals which ran lines down their grotesquely deformed or mutated bodies, their faces bared large fangs and disproportionate eyes, some even wore pants surprisingly, though they were nearly torn to shreds. Their arms were mutated into claws and blades of different sizes, and their soulless eyes radiated anger. Albedo immediately turned back to his human form, disregarding the fact that the Ectonurite was still watching, albeit he has already figured out the trick, and looked at the terrified Orwell in the tunnel.

"Orwell!" his shout caught the attention of the dwarf right away, "You said there were one hundred of you yes?"

"Y-yeah!" he nodded vigorously.

"That is what I was afraid of." he clicked his tongue in frustration, "I hate to say, that those creatures are what became of your crew. Even if some of them seem to be missing... That is concerning."

"What?!" he could barely snap, "Is... Is it permanent..?"

"That entirely depends on when they were exposed to it." Albedo revealed as he turned into a Kineceleran in a matter of seconds, "But for now, we are getting out of here." he declared as he scooped the dwarf off of his feet and sped off towards the directions their friends would be coming from.

"What are you doin'?! We can't just leave them there!"

"I know that well, however in their current form they are tougher than normally, and considering they are dwarves... _were_ dwarves we need all the equipment for you lot we can get. Hopefully your crew has brough some of it along with them. We need to incapacitate them and separate them long enough so they do not hurt others or themselves."

"W-what or who did this to them? Was it..?"

"Probably yes, however _what_ did it is the problem here..." the alien revealed, "The material that does this kind of mutation to a being is called corrodium."

"A material I have never heard of, but _you_ know..." Orwell's pupils shrank, "Oh lord, don't tell me that he brought it over?"

"Either that, or it somehow ended up here a while back and he was looking for it." Albedo brought up as a counterpoint, "Which would mean that either corrodium exists in this world... Or the portal we are being harassed by brought some here who knows how long ago. You are absolutely certain that before meeting us you had no contact with aliens yes?"

"So that's what this thing is." Orwell smiled weakly as he looked at the Kineceleran, "But no... No we did not, I am certain that our world does not have any, or at least any that want to interact with us."

"That is... Troubling."

It was at that moment that the escaping duo has ran past the advancing group of dwarves, human and pony-turned-human, causing the Kineceleran to screech to a rather abrupt halt and turn around to meet them, to their chagrin, only some of the group possessed tools. The dwarves appeared quite startled at first until they noticed their de-facto leader in the creature's arms which made them realize the situation, however the human girl appeared worried to see this creature so their calm soon turned into another spout of worry.

"What happened?" Charmcaster asked with a raised eyebrow. "If you had to resort to XLR8..."

"We appear to have a problem." Albedo declared, "I took care of our fake wolf problem, however dear old ghosty decided to one up me by making sure to have a backup plan. We have found the remaining dwarves, or at least some of them."

"Why do I immediately feel like that's somehow bad news?" the Doctor asked, at this point slowly getting used to the different transformations of his strange new alien friend.

"It is. They are infected with corrodium." he revealed, however other than Charmcaster everyone else, safe for Orwell as well, was confused.

"It's a highly corrosive material from their world." Orwell revealed to the others, and the Doctor, as he asked to be put down. "Meaning, it ain't natural 'round 'ere."

"It is highly mutagenic as well to any creature outside the Anur system, and even within it only Thep Khufan's are the one creature in existence to be able to handle the material without outside protection." he added, for demonstration turning into his own pale and red version of the mummy-like alien once he has mentioned the species, "As soon as it comes into contact with anything else... _That_ happens, RUN!" he shouted upon seeing the mutated lot closing in on them, this time with a lot more vigor, and turned back into a human to not lose sight of anyone, "Stay as far as possible, whilst the mutated creatures are not infectious they quite obviously have some sharp appendages not safe for all of your wellbeing."

"We can see that, thanks!" the same female dwarf from before, named Cynthia according to a nameplate Albedo has just noticed, "Anythin' else we should know?"

"Corrodium is a glowy purple rock, stay away from that as well in the off chance that there happens to be more." Charmcaster declared before Albedo could. "On the other hand, your friends can be saved as long as we can restrain them and not expose them to more of the stuff, the effects will revert in a short amount of time... Unless..."

"They've been turned for a while, right, okay." another male dwarf, Quintus, nodded, "Just great news all around."

"Tell me about it." Albedo groaned, "This morning was so much better than the rest of the day."

"How... How long ago was this morning to you?" the Doctor whispered to him whilst running, somewhat weirded out considering that a lot of time has passed.

"About 80 hours ago..? I do not know; I have a hard time keeping track currently. But no worries, I require little sleep."

"Somehow that does not fill me with much confidence, friend." the Doctor sighed as they rounded an immediate corner.

"Alright, arm yourself with anything you can use, do not worry they can take hits you just need to hit them hard enough to knock them out." Albedo instructed. "Once they round the corner me and Charmcaster will tie them up to ensure they are able to safely turn back, however, as inhumane as it may be I will need to ask you to knock them out once tied up. A simple sleep spell won't keep them from long, and a longer lasting one could have consequences with their infected minds. As for where the rest of your group is... That is a matter of utmost importance for us to figure out."

"Alright boss!" Orwell grinned widely, "Ya know these things."

"Alright then, that is a first." Albedo chuckled, "Let us save your group, then worry about _where_ the corrodium actually is... Assuming our dear ghost did not take it with him."

"An' if he did?"

"Your world is safe, the multiverse on the other hand..."

"Gotcha." Orwell nodded, "Are we sure that this is all the people dat got corroded?"

"If he so wanted to Zs'Skayr would have had all the opportunity to mutate all your people, this group is barely 30 individuals which would suggest, that to our dismay, he still has or at least _had_ some plans for them."

"I see." Orwell nodded again as he turned to his crew, "Alright people, ya heard the man! Let's show 'em what for!" to his cry the other twelve cheered with their remaining resolve.

With how little they planning took, the same amount of time has passed before it was set into motion. Out of the thirteen dwarves, three set off towards the direction of the advancing corrodium mutants to guide them towards their makeshift ambush, confident in their ability, this time with actual strategy as opposed to the fake Loboans. Albedo turned into a Methanosian to ensure he would not hurt any of the mutants, but would still have enough skill and ability to restrain them whilst the sorceress on her end was already on her way to conjure up a binding spell. As the three ran back in the white haired duo immediately got ready to restrain the mutant beasts. Following their successful obstruction of the mutants, with ferocious tenacity the small group of thirteen took down the mindless mutants with incredible speed. They were now tied up, bound in place, and knocked unconscious to make sure their effects could expire without further problems.

"Can we really just leave 'em here?" Quintus asked anxiously.

"The bindings will hold I give you my word, however now it all depends on them and how long they have been exposed to the mineral. As long as they are unconscious, they should pose no more problems however. On the other hand, we are still short of 57 people, who in a place as large as this could potentially be anywhere... or any _when_."

"Ya just love ta make it complicated don'tcha?" Orwell sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It is not my intention but it does tend to end up that way yes." Albedo nodded with a guilty shrug.

"Wait, you're not doing it on purpose?!" Charmcaster audibly gasped at the alien's statement.

"...Dear, have some hope in me would you?" Albedo deadpanned, some of the dwarves chuckling in turn, "Either way, we best make our way back to the alcove incase our not-so-lovely friend is trying to make an escape, as he usually does in these kinds of situations."

As soon as they made sure that the corrodium mutants were actually out for the count the group immediately hurried back into the alcove where Orwell and Albedo last met the alternate Zs'Skayr before they were rudely chased out by a bunch of Halloween rejects... However, to none of their surprise the Ectonurite was nowhere to be seen, however thanks to a certain Horseman, Albedo was able to ascertain that he was in fact still in the room.

"Come now, stop your games vermin." Albedo's voice echoed in the cavern harsher than he intended, "You cannot hide from _me_, so why not stop now and stop your charade as well?"

A ghostly laugh soon echoed in the cavern as well, slowly getting on the nerves of Albedo, "Hide..? No, no, no... I am... merely biding my time." the ghostly alien declared as his half-burned form materialized in front of the group, "You... You're Albedo from the Galvan... aren't you..?" he asked, still struggling with speaking.

"It is Al-bay-do thank you very much. But yes, if you must know, that would be me."

"Curious... I could have sworn... That you hated Tennyson... As much as I did..." he laughed again.

"Maybe in your world Ectonurite." Albedo frowned at his suggestion, "Where I come from, things are different."

At that, the Ectonurite just let out a spine-chilling laugh, "A different world..?! Ah, how wonderful!"

"Do not think you have a chance of getting out of here alive though." Albedo threatened, "Unlike Benjamin... I am not above ending your existence right here."

"Albedo..." Charmcaster worriedly whispered but Albedo lightly raised his arm so the ghost would not catch on. 'Oh, he's channeling his old self.' she chuckled inwardly.

"That... may be so... But unfortunately for... you, you will have... no chance of doing that... _now._"

As if it was a command, as soon as the word left the Ectonurite's mouth a large _green_ portal opened up behind him which he took no seconds to cross over. Through this portal Albedo could clearly make out a different world, one that seemed quite desolate... Along with what seemed to be the remainder of the dwarves visible in the distance, once again surprised by his eyesight.

"Hopefully... We won't meet again..." the ghostly alien cackled madly as he made a mad dash to disappear on the other side of the now hastily closing portal.

"Oh, no you do not!" Albedo snapped with his fists grasped tightly, however he did not make it through in time as the portal closed so fast... it cut him in half, his last action before his demise being a brief eye contact with the sorceress, who reluctantly nodded.

"Holy shi-!" Orwell grasped his head as he could barely stop himself from cursing, "He just-"

"We have to make sure your friends are actually alright." Charmcaster declared after a brief sigh serving as a way to recollect herself.

"But, the boy just..!" Orwell argued before his eyes widened at the fact that the pair of legs he refused to look at began to dissipate into dust in a matter of seconds, "What in the..?"

"He's... He's immortal, Orwell." Charmcaster revealed between shaking breaths as she hastily wiped a tear and tightened her fist, "He's gonna be okay. He always is." she sighed as her breathing calmed down, 'But at this rate I'm going to go insane...'

"I-Immortal..?" Orwell asked while his whole body shuddered as he recalled his casual attitude even in front of weapons, 'I just thought he was bein' composed... He just... Didn't care?'

** _Desolate City, Unknown World, Unknown Time_ **

"Well that sure is filling me with confidence." Albedo sighed, looking at the letters, as he dusted his legs off, surprisingly his clothing once again curiously regenerated along with his missing lower torso. "This place has got the green aesthetic down if nothing else." he groaned as he looked around.

" _Are you sure it was wise to jump in headfirst?_"

"If they came with me we would have had a miniscule chance to get back to that world if we wanted to. If Charmcaster is there the Doctor and her can find me without incident. As for my reckless decision just now, it was because I caught sight of our missing dwarven friends, and according to this Zs'Skayr if his so-called master is as psychotic as he says, I do not think they have a good chance at survival... Well, without us, but that would feed my ego so that will be an afterthought."

" _I realize we are in a hurry, but you revived ourselves almost instantly, do you not think this will be detrimental?_"

"Even if it is, we cannot afford to lose a second."

The Grim Reaper only sighed inwardly, " _Suit yourself my friend. On that note however, I know this is hardly the time, but whenever you do find the time... Do think about what just happened to you, alright?_"

"Whatever do you-" however he immediately stopped himself midsentence, "I just died to a portal." he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Are you suggesting?"

" _I think it _is _ about time you made good on your promise to young Ace, do you not think?_"

"That is assuming this works how we think it does." he let out a frustrated sigh, "Life is never going to be easy from now on will it?"

" _Was it ever easy?_" the Reaper just chuckled.

"Fair point." Albedo shrugged, "Now, how about we try to advance before our ghostly adversary?"

" _You are in control._"

"Right."

With that, Albedo cracked his knuckles, bent his knees and within a matter of seconds he was several meters above the nearest skyscraper. He stopped briefly in the air due to large pale blue butterfly-like wings sprouting from his back as he started surveying the area to find which building it was that he looked at before he crossed the portal. Then, upon finding said building he sped off with the speed of a Citrakayah, an alien species which Benjamin has named Fasttrack, deeming a Kineceleran's speed to be overkill for this action. However even with the lesser speed, he practically became a smaller missile as he crashed through the roof of the dilapidated green building, kicking up a large dust storm upon landing.

** _Abandoned Warehouse, Desolate City, Unknown World, Unknown Time_ **

"What in the-?!" Albedo has heard a male voice shout in surprise as he slowly rose from the rubble he has just created, causing him to look around and take in his surroundings with a bit of difficulty due to the overall darkness of this world. As he turned around, he saw what seemed to be the remaining dwarves, all 57 of them, tied to each other and various objects with what seemed to be steel wiring undeniably making it hard for them to even breathe. The one who spoke up in surprise was a dwarf with a slightly larger build, no shirt, a full set of orange hair and an accompanying bushy beard reaching past his navel and a strange helmet with horns on his head almost resembling the ones Vikings he has read about used to wear. His blue eyes were trembling at what Albedo could only imagine he looked like.

"Oh my, well is this not a pleasant surprise?" Albedo spoke up with a smile, his gentle voice no doubt confusing the dwarves even more, dusting his hair and jacket off from the debris and the rubble and making his wings disappear.

"W-who are you?!" the previous dwarf put on a brave face as he tried to sound imposing, even within their predicament. "Are you with-"

"NO! No, no worries! I know my entrance could use some fine tuning, or finesse or whatever it could really use," he started rambling as another piece of the now broken roof crashed around him making him actively cringe, "But you do not have to worry I am not with your ghostly friend." Albedo did a slight bow, "On that note, I would rather reinforce your belief in me saying that I have already met with dear Orwell and tell you that the other half of your group is safe, mostly."

"Ya... Ya did?!" the dwarf would have probably been crying tears of joy if he could.

"Are all of you dwarves so trusting of strange people?" Albedo couldn't help but ask out loud at the surprising turn of events.

"No! No, gods no! You know Orwell by name, that means he's still alive! Yer not lyin'!" a couple happy tears did make their way down his bearded face, "'Sides, I think I would be cryin' anyway if it turned out someone like you is after us as well."

Albedo shrunk back a bit as he looked up at the hole he made in the ceiling as yet another piece fell down and did a couple forced coughs to change the topic, "So, umm anyway-" he clapped his hands together, "I trust that _you_ are the leader of this expedition? The mining one I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, that's me! But, t-the ones who turned into those monsters..?" the dwarf almost pleadingly asked, "Are they okay..? Are they gunna be okay?"

"As I have told your colleagues, that entirely depends on when they have turned... Seeing as how you know of their fate, I feel I must ask: Do you have an idea?"

"I, uh... A couple, a couple hours at best..?"

"Ah, in that case there is no cause for worry. Only constant exposure to corrodium results in permanent mutations. But since _you_ lot know, and your colleagues do not that those were your friends that turned... That means the corrodium's origins are from somewhere around here, not in that mine which is a bit of a relief."

"C-corrodium?" the dwarven leader asked curiously though a relieved sigh escaped his lips soon after.

"It would unfortunately take too long to explain so you will have to ask your friends when we get out of here." Albedo declared with a smile, "On that note, if I could get a name of whom I am saving I would appreciate it."

"Ah, r-right, yer right." the ginger dwarf nodded, along with his 56 companions, "Me name's Simon. Simon Honeydew."

"Well, nice to make your acquaintance Simon." Albedo smiled as the other dwarves introduced themselves as well, "My name is Albedo, and we are about to get out of here." he pointed at the steel wires, "That is if you stay still." the dwarves nodded as Albedo started going around each group of bound creatures and with only a bit of struggle snapped the wires in two, "Why have supernatural strength if you do not use it when it counts?" he silently muttered to himself as the burns on his hands began to heal rapidly.

"Rite, so... How do we get outta here?" Simon, now for whatever reason much more confident than before, asked with a grin as he turned to Albedo with his hands on his hips.

"Well that right there my young friend, is where I will ask you to bear with me."

"...Huh?"

"Well, you see it is a bit complicated to explain but I might be able to open portals now, but I have absolutely no clue how it works, so... Bear with me?"

"At this point? What the hell?" Simon shrugged. "I'm up fer anythin'! Go fer it." he gave a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, "I ain't even gonna ask a question currently."

"Well, here goes nothing." Albedo shrugged as well as he clapped his hands together, more than likely for dramatic effect, as he closed his eyes for a brief second before expanding his arms outward, with his hands stretching out an oval shaped _red_ portal out of thin air as if ripping the space itself open in front of them. "Woah, what do you know, this actually worked!"

"Somehow that doesn't really fill me with confidence here." another dwarf, one with a less heavy accent, this one more on the British side, with blonde hair and goggles on his head declared with a worried face, his nameplate read Duncan.

"Oh well, what is the worst that could happen?"

" _ALBEDO!_" the Grim Reaper snapped, formerly not one for superstition, but nowadays in a multiverse where anything can happen... And happen it did as the same ghostly laughter resounded around them, sending shivers down the dwarves' spines.

"Oh great." Albedo silently cursed his mouth.

"You really are full of surprises!" the Ectonurite rogue appeared in his full glory, his burn marks all but gone as he continued to cackle madly, "Did you _really_ think you would leave this place alive?"

"Would you believe that I did? And that I _would_." Albedo chuckled, "If you did not notice, I know your little trick now."

"Maybe so." Zs'Skayr shrugged, which threw Albedo for a loop, "But that certainly doesn't mean you stole it from me!" he cackled once again as with a swipe of his clawed hand the same green portal from before opened behind the large group of dwarves, this time accompanied with the vacuum like effect of the initial rogue portal. Albedo could only look on in shock before immediately transforming his arms into those of a Segmentasapien, an alien dubbed as Bloxx by Benjamin, and scooping up as many of the dwarven victims as he could and forcibly but somehow still gently pushed them through his own portal.

"Sorry about this everyone! Search for the girl with white-magenta hair, or your dear Orwell!" he announced as he forcibly closed his portal, despite knowing that three unfortunate dwarves fell out of his grasp and were sent to wherever the green portal took them. It was in that moment that his face lost all emotion as his eyes were filled with silent fury.

The ghost cackled madly once again, "No matter, I can still access both worlds, you cannot keep them sa-" however his laughter stopped the moment Albedo appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye and started floating without any outside help, his pupils shrunken and his right eye rapidly switching colors between his crimson and Ben's green. "Wha-"

"I. Tire. Of. This." he said once again in broken stitched together words as he reached out his hand and grasped the head of the Ectonurite who reflexively tried to become intangible only to be deathly shocked that he could not, "You. Die." with those two simple words the emotionless creature started tightening his grasp as hard as he could as the Ectonurite began screaming, "Quiet. Now." he ordered as he, in his annoyance, threw the ghost aside, "Shut up. And. Live. Understand?" however a response never came as the ghost's boney head was cracked to a horrifying mess, as his teeth were about to fall out, the sickly green creature was shivering on the ground unable to go intangible or disappear. "Good. Enough." he declared with a dismissive shrug as he looked at his hands which soon tightened into fists as he looked at the green portal which was about to close, "Save." he almost silently declared as a wide grin formed on his face, "**Destroy**." he added silently, this however was not a sound made by one Albedo had used... It was _his_ own.

** _Occupied Cavern, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

Charmcaster decided to sit down at one side of the large cavern, to catch her breath and collect her thoughts after witnessing _that_ again. 'Nothing makes it easy seeing that, huh? It wasn't easy the first time, and it probably never'll be.' she tried to force a smile but couldn't, 'I know I shouldn't worry... I mean he doesn't but... How can you get... _used_ to that?' she argued with her thoughts and the mental image of the Galvan. 'Why can't you just get that we're worried about you?!' she shouted inwardly then shook her head, 'Of course he doesn't, no one ever told him directly.' she rationalized. 'He still doesn't think that we care... Maybe that's what hurts the most, not even the... The fact that he just dies so casually now.' she then grasped both sides of her head and angrily ruffled her hair, "Who am I kidding?" she muttered out loud quietly.

"Hey." came the soothing voice of the Doctor, without his ID mask on this time, as Charmcaster raised her head looking at his smiling yet worried face, "Everything okay?" he asked, but his worries deepened when the sorceress didn't even comment on his appearance, not even for a joke.

Charmcaster tried her best to force a smile as she faced the ponified Time Lord, "No, to be honest. Not really."

The Doctor's smile faltered, only his worried expression remaining, "You don't have to force yourself around me you know? I've been... through my fair share. I think I at least have an inkling of what it is that's ailing you. Can I..?" he asked to sit next to her, his only response being a slow nod, "Can I ask, how long you've... _Known_?"

"The fact that he... Can't die?" her response was a reaffirmed nod, "It happened a good bit after we got to know each other, the fact that we figured it out I mean..." she sighed as she buried her face in her palms, "I dunno if I ever actually processed it."

"I'm not surprised."

"Well, I _am_ surprised that you're taking this so well!" Charmcaster snapped much to the Doctor's surprise.

"To be honest, if it wasn't for prior experience I probably wouldn't have believed him when he told me upon our meeting." the Doctor did his equivalent of a shrug.

"Prior experience?"

"I knew a man who became immortal, his name was Jack. I mean, it probably still is as he, you know, can't die." the Doctor chuckled, "He was like Albedo in some aspects, thinking of his life as an asset, using it in any way that would be beneficial to him or us... And, after I got transported to Equestria, I had the opportunity to meet the pair of rulers there as well, those being immortal alicorns, so I believe I have had some run ins to not be too surprised anymore. Then again, Albedo is quite an odd case."

"Odd? Odd how?"

"Gaining powers upon dying is in itself unprecedented, but from what he himself told me, the fact that this time traveler of your world, who seems to be a lot more knowledgeable then even Time Lords, said that he alone is the only one of himself in the multiverse to switch sides... _That_ is intriguing."

Charmcaster let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, he seems to have that effect on people. But to disagree with one point you just said, we met another version that was on our side. A parallel version from a world where the genders were switched."

"Ah yes, he did mention something like that, my apologies." he then let out a sigh, "So when were _you_ planning on telling him?"

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Look, I may not be from your world _and_ I may not have much expertise in magic or spells or rituals and the like, but you cannot honestly expect me to not have noticed, or at least suspected, what you were working on in that room of yours." he put his hooves on his hips, or at least their equivalent, "I may be dense, but not _that_ dense."

Charmcaster was visibly taken aback by the perceptiveness of the time traveler, "D-does he know?"

"To your luck, I believe he had more on his plate than to be able to notice." the Doctor reassured her, "On that note however, do you have an idea about what you are doing at all? What with researching immortality?"

"Pfft, of course I do." Charmcaster boasted lightly, "What I have a problem with is the lack of materials."

"Materials? Is this a ritual or a spell?" the Doctor asked incredulously.

Charmcaster however just broke out into a short laugh, "It _is_ a spell silly, it's just I need materials to set up a magic circle. It's unlike anything I have ever casted before... And as you'd guess, the effects are permanent."

"Normally I would really be against this, but... This isn't really my decision to make, so I'm just gonna ask, are you absolutely sure about this?"

"I couldn't be surer, Doctor." Charmcaster confidently declared, "I'm... I'm not sure what he has told you specifically, and you might not have noticed because he's actually really good at keeping up a front, but deep down I know that he's afraid."

The Doctor only appeared slightly surprised at that, but still he decided to ask, "Afraid of what, exactly?"

"Afraid of ending up all alone again." Charmcaster responded with a sad smile, "He knows it won't happen for a long while, but he has been afraid ever since realization hit him what it truly means to be immortal. To be there at the end of it all."

"...Outliving everyone he now holds dear..." the Doctor let out a lengthier sigh, "Is that why he's having trouble making actual relationships?"

"I'm sure." the sorceress nodded, "Ever since he lost someone close to him, I think he's been afraid of either going through all that again, or afraid of him making decisions like last time again."

"But from what he told me he wasn't exactly in his right mind then, right?"

"He wasn't, that's true." she nodded again, "But he's on the mentality that 'What's stopping history from repeating itself again?'. Other than him, only Jeff and Slenderman are immortals back at the base, and it's not that I don't trust them, I just... Don't want them to be just left alone at the end of _everything_..." she then turned to look at the Time Lord with a desperate but confused look on her face, "...Is that... Is that selfish of me?"

The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise as he started laughing heartily to the surprise of the young sorceress, "Haha, you're asking me that _now_?" he put a comforting hoof on her shoulder, "You're determined to stay together, and unlike some power-hungry people I know, your intentions are pure. And as a bonus you actually know what you are doing, I do not see why you would think so." he answered honestly, "I just ask that you actually share your plan with him before going through with it."

"But he would just-"

"Shoot you down? Maybe, but you've managed to convince me of all people, didn't you? What makes you think you can't appeal to him the same way?"

"Huh... Maybe you're right." Charmcaster nodded with a much more confident smile, "As soon as we get home I'll talk to him about it, I promise."

"That's the spirit!" the Doctor smiled as well, "Besides it seems we will be spending more time together anyway, so I'll be there to help."

"Are you sure?"

"If our working theory is to be believed and this portal of yours is the cause of my initial transportation to Equestria in the first place, then I believe I'm already more than involved. In fact, all of my new friends are."

"Woah, I didn't hear about that."

"Yes, it would appear that every event that has transpired that day is under the same procedure this portal operates under. Or so Albedo and I think at least."

"But from what you told me that would make-"

"The time of what you guys thought was the initial portal appearance to be inconsistent. Yes. That's the current problem besides this whole situation."

"What a mess..."

"You're telling me." the Doctor groaned.

As their conversation was slowly dying down, they saw the temporary dwarven leader, Orwell, heading straight towards them, almost sprinting with his stubby legs, a huge smile visible even with his large bushy beard. The Doctor introduced his current true self to them, taking off the mask for a while, before having a talk with the sorceress, but to his surprise they didn't seem to be too surprised, not as much at least.

"Guys! The... The others! They turned back!" he happily exclaimed whilst trying to catch his breath. "I can't believe it! I dunno how I could ever thank you!" a couple tears slowly made their way down his bearded face as the dwarf was overwhelmed by happiness, causing the sorceress to stand up and gently pat his back.

"C'mon Orwell, you need to keep on being strong." she smiled, "Only let the waterworks lose once we are sure everyone is actually safe and sound and back here alright?" she gently continued consoling him.

"Right, haha. Right!" he wiped his tears, his smile never fading as his ever-confident demeanor has returned, "I'spose we just wai-"

However, as if on cue, the air around them began feeling gradually colder and colder. Some smaller stones and pebbles began swirling around in place as if suddenly caught by a current of wind. Charmcaster already knew that this could only mean one thing, however her eyes opened as wide as they could go when the large portal that appeared out of thin air was undeniably colored red. A deep almost crimson red. 'No way...' she couldn't believe her eyes. Then she just began grinning.

"Haha! He did it!" she finally spoke up as she cheered loudly.

In a matter of seconds after it fully opened, two large hands reached out, within them confined securely the remaining dwarves. As the palely colored hands, shaped like building blocks, 'deposited' their haul they disappeared back into the portal as it closed soon after, much to the confusion of the sorceress.

"What?! Why would he-"

"Everyone!" Orwell shouted as the other dwarves were now picking themselves off the floor, "You're okay!"

"Orwell!" a dwarf with a shorter brown beard and hair tied in a bun, a pair of glasses on his face, exclaimed in happiness, his nameplate reading Seán. "We... We are but the boss and two others couldn't come back!"

"What?!"

"That nice guy, Albedo I think, was about to get us out when the ghost appeared again and did his portal trick. He couldn't pick them up in time so he picked up all of us as fast as he could an' I think he went after 'em. We didn't see any more than that." he shook his head in disappointment.

"Not again!" the Doctor snapped angrily.

"I should have expected this, this always happens! Damn it!" Charmcaster punched the wall in anger, not at all taking note of the sting her hand gelt at the moment.

"Calm down, it will be okay, we can find him with your magic." the Doctor reasoned.

"I know, but we can't leave until he himself returns." the sorceress explained, "It will take ages to get back here again."

"Ah, you're right." the Time Lord clicked his tongue in frustration. "We play the waiting game again then. Fantastic." he added sarcastically.

"Are you two that guy's friends?" Seán asked as he came up to them, not the least bit perturbed by the talking pony.

"Yeah, we are." Charmcaster nodded with a small smile.

"I wanted to thank him for what he did but obviously that could not happen, so at least I wanna thank you guys too." he then awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, as his voice quieted down, "Listen, I didn't wanna say this in front of the others, but he looked almost irrationally angry once the boss and the guys disappeared. At first, I thought it was just from frustration, but it seemed a bit more... Violent. I thought you guys should know."

Charmcaster's eyes went wide before she controlled her surprise and extended a hand towards the dwarf in front of him, "Thanks for letting us know, I'm glad you guys are okay."

"Lady, I think we all are. Didn't expect that we'd be rescued at all, much less in that kinda way that's for sure." he chuckled as he turned around, "I best return to my team, we have a lot to catch up on. See ya around?"

"Oh, of course." both of them nodded with forced smiles which Seán thankfully didn't pick up on.

"Is this what you guys mentioned?" the Doctor whispered to the sorceress in a voice filled to the brim with worry, "The unnatural anger?"

"I think it is Doctor." Charmcaster sighed nervously, "I just hope that _he_ directs all that anger towards someone or something that deserves it." she added with a shudder.

"Some hope we have." the Time Lord looked to his left with a confusing expression.

** _Bernia Village, Britannia, Unknown World, Unknown Time_ **

The green portal opened in the middle of a small village somewhere seemingly on the outskirts of a kingdom. Safe to say the villagers who were around the village center were visibly perturbed by the sudden appearance of the young man who casually stepped out of it. As it closed soon after he exited, his newfound heterochromatic eyes started to dart around the village as he looked up above him, tilting his head at the weird floating letters before shrugging, "Agreed. Information. Terrible." he declared in an annoyed mash up of words.

' _Can you hear me?_'

'Yes.'

' _Who _are _ you?_'

'Me? Who. You? Voice. In. Head?'

' _You can call me Death, or The Grim Reaper, or whatever you'd like. You could say we... Share a body._'

'I. See.' _he_ nodded, 'Grim. It. Is.'

' _You're getting better at talking._'

'Perhaps. Who. I?'

' _You mean you do not know?_'

'Would. I. Be. Asking otherwise?' the last part of the sentence sounded deeper, more than likely once again meaning _his_ own words.

' _Fair point. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that. Your appearance is as much as of a surprise for us, as it must be for you_.'

' _Us?_'

' _I was referring to the one who's body we are actually occupying. One thing we are sure of is that you are more than likely an alternate personality to him. One that controls his anger, and additionally a similar portion of power_.'

'Explains. The. Irrational. Fury.' he shrugged nonchalantly, 'No. Matter. Need. Something. To. Punch. _Much_. ** _Fast_**.'

Death just let out a small sigh as a smile would have appeared on his face if he had muscles, ' _Some things don't change I suppose. In that case, I think you will be eager to know that something large is heading our way._'

'Oooh~. Fun.' a wicked grin flashed by on his face for a second. 'Think. Of. Identity. Or. Something. Okay?'

' _That is a big role my friend are you sure?_'

'You. Have. Better. Idea?' whilst still using borrowed words and sounds, it seemed that his speech was getting better.

As soon as he returned from his thoughts, on the outside barely any time passing, his eyes then landed on a small child with brown hair styled up into two small spikes on both sides almost resembling an old-school broom, a small cape-like clothing was around his neck, who in response flinched. "You. Child. Where. I?"

"B-Bernia Village!" the child almost reflexively shouted as the two-colored eyes directed at him narrowed.

"Alright. Information. Seems. Accurate." he seemed to let out a sigh, though it sounded strange, "What a mess." he declared in a bit of a deeper voice than that of Albedo's, but the difference was not too much.

"I-is that green thing your power sir?!" the child eagerly asked almost shrugging off his earlier fear.

The anger filled eyes focused on the child causing him to shrink back as a rather psychotic grin appeared on his face, "No." he simply declared, "Now. Go."

"W-what?"

"Place. Danger. Something. Coming." he added, "Find. Shelter."

"Right now?"

"Run. Already." his voice now a growl he looked at the child. "**_GO_**."

"O-okay!" the child nodded eagerly before running off to the terrified villagers. Well terrified because of him, rather than whatever he just sensed coming.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." he heard an alluring female voice from behind him, though at this point in time his right eyebrow just twitched with his barely under control anger as he turned around. Behind him floating above the ground was a taller woman with shoulder length black hair, golden eyes and a highly revealing purple outfit barely above a bikini with thigh highs. Well it was more of a severely skimpy coat and some purple panties. However, _he_ only locked eyes with her. "Of all people I didn't expect to see _you_ here... Though I must admit, last time you looked... A bit more _feminine._"

_He_ just scowled, "I. Not. Who. You. Think." he slowly uttered each word, "Also. Irrationally. Angry. Talk. Hard. Wait. To. Calm. Down."

"Hm? And how are you planning to do that?"

"That." he pointed behind the woman who just turned around to see a giant four-armed creature making a mad dash towards the village. It was large and crimson colored with striped markings around its chest, its head strangely appearing similar to a demented rabbit's, the lower part of its face having three spike-like growths protrude of it, the whole shape giving a seemingly poorly drawn star.. Along with its already strange appearance it seemed to be wearing primitive pants, or more like leg armor over clawed feet, and had what appeared to be large rabbit like ears on its head, further complimenting its previously described face. It landed after a big jump right next to a house as its impact caused it to collapse. _He_ let out a roar betraying his human appearance and jumped at the creature with fists held back much to the surprise of the scantily clad woman.

Suffice to say the demonic looking creature more than likely did not expect such a reckless and wild action as it suddenly found its vision changing to what was behind it. It took a couple seconds for it to realize that its head has left its body, and with that horrifying realization its vision faded as it expired after seconds. However _he_ didn't stop at that as he continued to bash away at the creature's body, slowly grinding it into a bloody pulp on the ground.

"Alright, that's far enough." the woman said with a smile, loud enough for _him_ to hear, as with a flick of her hand he was enveloped in a purple cubic barrier, causing him to snap his head back at the woman with shrunken pupils.

"True. Thanks." he simply declared before he collapsed much to the woman's confusion... or maybe to her interest.

As she floated over to the decimated corpse of the demonic creature, and more specifically to the young man inside her barrier, the villagers slowly returned to the outside of their homes, looking over in surprise to the outside of the village where barely seconds ago a monster was about to attack from.

"Ugh, my head is killing me." Albedo groaned as he held his head, soon after noticing the light purple barrier surrounding him. He stood up to now notice the bloody pulp he was standing above. "Oh lord, what exactly happened here?"

" _Our friend took over your body. He was quite talkative._"

"You spoke to him?!" Albedo was more excited than terrified, surprisingly.

" _Indeed. I would say there is no cause for worry. For now, he seemed like someone that would help you release your pent-up fury. He was also getting better at talking, in fact he asked us to come up with a name._"

"A name? That is unprecedented. Hm, I think in that case we _will _actually get along swimmingly down the line."

" _On that note, I believe you have a visitor._"

"Hm?"

"Albedo, I presume?" the woman from before asked, crossing her arms with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"That would be me yes, are you perchance the one who has put me in this barrier? If so, I appreciate it."

"It was me, yes. Though I believe you owe me an explanation." the woman nodded, her smile not faltering, "As it stands now, you look quite similar to an acquaintance of mine, and even share the name."

Albedo's eyes widened for a moment before his mind kicked into high gear before with an almost audible click everything popped together, 'A woman in skimpy clothes capable of incredible magic.' the description popped into his head soon after as he turned to face the woman, "Oh! Is your name perchance Merlin?"

"That's me, yes."

"Ah! Then I know what is going on!" the alien declared with a confident smile, "You can let down this barrier now, I am back to my original self, no need to worry."

"I'm trusting you to explain yourself."

"Of course. Since you seem to know my name, and you apparently have an acquaintance who looked like me, it is quite obvious. I am sure _she_ did not have any knowledge as we met later on, but to put it simply, I am a version of your friend from an alternate world. Well, a world where I, in question, not only am a male but also am immortal, not much difference besides that."

"Yet another world?"

"Miss Merlin if I may, we are living in a multiverse... A multiverse that has just recently began to collapse and merge."

"Collapse how?"

"Judging by your reaction, before meeting my alternate self you had no run ins with that blue portal did you?"

"No, that's right we did not." she nodded in agreement.

"That portal, you see, has been opening across multiple worlds and causing havoc. One such problem is the one that caused my appearance here, which I admit is quite topical seeing as I had my other self-inform me somewhat of this world." he let out a sigh, "My friends were taken and dumped to somewhere in the multiverse which caused us to mount a rescue action. That led us to a different world, and through a series of circumstances I ended up here searching for three other people... Well, to be honest, it was my incompetence that they have ended up here in the first place."

"That is quite convoluted." the woman admitted.

"Tell me about it." Albedo sighed, "On that note, you have not happened to see three dwarves around here did you?"

"No, I'm afraid I did not. Due to your... Other self's bombastic performance I did not have too much time to take a look around."

"Ah, I apologize for that." Albedo sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "I am dealing with a bit of an 'identity crisis' currently. Possibly no cause for concern."

"You are as terrible at making people feel reassured as your other self." the woman chuckled.

"I have no defense to that." Albedo laughed with a short shrug, "On that note, is it alright to... leave this creature here?"

"It will disappear after a while, you do not have to worry about it." the woman reassured him, "However I believe _you_ need help."

"I will not refuse it if you are so willing to give it. I do need some help so I can finally go home and relax a bit." he let out a sigh, "It has been a long 72 hours."

"Can you also transform into those creatures like your other can?"

"I can indeed, why do you ask?"

"I would ask you to follow me so we can talk in a more secluded place, if that's okay."

"Oh, yes of course." Albedo nodded as the woman started floating again, beckoning him to follow her. Blue moth like wings sprouted from his back as he took to the air himself. "I see the intrigue in your eyes. Transformations for extended periods of time cause a strain to my head, so I devised an alternative method. Less power used to the same effect so to speak."

"I see." the woman smiled, almost as if making mental notes.

** _The Boar Hat Tavern, On the Outskirts of Bernia Village, Britannia, Unknown World, Unknown Time_ **

The two landed in front of a tavern on the nearby mountains that, to at least Albedo, resembled a large hat. It had a homey appearance and a feel that just made someone want to enter. As the two entered they were greeted by a warm atmosphere and an empty tavern with several tables lined up in front of them awaiting the costumers of the night.

"Miss Merlin! You're back!" came the cheerful voice of a girl from behind the counter upon noticing the woman Albedo was with. She had waist length platinum blonde hair, it covering one of her eyes. She wore a short black skirt and a pink top, with one single thigh high sock on her left leg along with a pair of white high heeled shoes. "How did it go?"

"I am, Princess. It went better than expected." Merlin nodded as she stepped inside, revealing Albedo behind her much to the girl's surprise.

"Miss...ter Albedo?" she started enthusiastically only to end in a question.

"Ah, I suppose I better get used to this treatment." Albedo shrugged, "Greetings, I am indeed Albedo, however-"

For the next couple minutes Albedo further introduced himself and told the young girl, a Princess apparently, the whole story he has told to the mage before. It seemed she was lost at parts but at the end Albedo realized it was not that she didn't understand but that some phrases he used were a bit harder to understand immediately.

"I understand." the Princess, Elizabeth, nodded still holding onto a tray, "I guess that means that she is not here, right?"

"I am afraid not Princess." both Merlin and Albedo responded in unison to their surprise, causing a small chuckle from both of them.

"On that note however, I am afraid I myself am not staying for long either. As weird as it sounds, that is a 'hopefully'." he let out a sigh, "I am looking for three dwarves who were unfortunate enough to be flung through a portal and end up here, and after that I will need to leave. However, now I can come back whenever it suits me, so I would say this is not the last time we are meeting."

"Oh I'm so glad to hear that!" princess Elizabeth exclaimed with a joyous smile on her face.

"Elizabeth!" a male voice came from upstairs, catching the attention of the princess, "Did you allow these guys upstairs?"

"Guys..?" the princess appeared confused however Albedo could only hope his luck was turning around.

'Can you check?'

' _One second._' their right eye turned to black as per routine and in a couple of seconds he confirmed, they were in luck.

"Oh I cannot believe this!" Albedo suddenly shouted, "Finally some good news for once!"

"Huh?" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise.

"That you sonny?!" the undeniable voice of Simon from upstairs started getting closer and closer as the trio of missing dwarves came running down the stairs, "Ya came for us!"

"Well, of course I did! I made a promise, and I plan on keeping it."

"Haha, I can't believe this."

"Alright, so, what exactly is going on in here?" the voice that shouted earlier, accompanied by its owner, appeared at the bottom of the stairs. A man of a smaller stature with spiky blond hair and green eyes, looking as confused as he possibly could be, then he noticed Albedo, "You're definitely not the _one_ we know."

"Ah, you must be Sir Meliodas." Albedo smiled widely, "While it is interesting that you realize that I am a different Albedo to the one you made your acquaintance, I am afraid I cannot stay long, I have to take these three unfortunate travelers back to their own world."

"Oh great. More parallel worlds." Meliodas groaned at the thought but smiled soon after, "If you're leaving that soon anyway, why not eat something? Or drink?"

"Ah, a drink sure could help this old fella." Simon spoke up, "Though I don't think we can exactly pay, our currency doesn't exactly work 'round these parts."

"No worries about that, I'll make a tab for ya." Meliodas grinned in response with a shrug, "Hawk will get mad but whatever."

"But we probably won't be able to come back for a while, if ever." Duncan, the blonde dwarf, revealed.

"I have acquired a way to move between dimensions recently." Albedo chipped in, "If it is alright with you Meliodas, I can probably pop in and pay sometime in the future."

"Hey, fine by me!"

"You are quite easygoing." Albedo chuckled, "I am not one for alcohol, but I am quite parched, so if you would give me your recommendation I would appreciate that."

"Not much traffic in the afternoon, so I have time to be easygoing." the blond man chuckled, "Also, sure, comin' right up."

As Meliodas was busying himself with preparing the servings of ale, princess Elizabeth moved over to Albedo and tried her best to quietly whisper in his ear. "D-did miss Albedo tell you about Sir Meliodas' cooking?"

"It came up in conversation yes." Albedo chuckled quietly, "I did not want to hurt his feelings, and I am not even hungry."

"I can hear you fine, you know?" Meliodas chipped in with a chuckle, "I'll have you know only the taste is bad!"

"Does that make a difference?" Albedo grinned.

"Hah, that's proof right there that you're Albedo alright. She was just the same." Meliodas smiled as he walked over with four mugs full to the brim with ale, "I suppose that means you're just as strong?"

"Actually, we sparred not long after meeting, and as it currently stands, it turns out I am stronger." Albedo shrugged, the tavern keep just raised a curious eyebrow, "Only by a small margin however. Also, I seem to take after one of your friends in being immortal." he then suddenly turned towards the blond tavern owner, "Do not try it." he added as he blocked an incoming hand.

"Alright, sorry, sorry." Meliodas let out a chuckle, not even hiding that he was about to try something. "Just got curious is all." he then took a seat next to them, taking a chair from a nearby table, "So, how long you staying actually?"

"I suppose we will leave soon, but I would at least like to finish what you have given us." Albedo shrugged, "I _am_ in a hurry, but time is on my side now."

"I see." the tavern keep's grin did not fade, "Well, if you say you can come and go whenever you want, come back for a match sometime? Maybe bring your other self with ya? I'm sure Ban'd like that too."

Albedo let out a chuckle, "Alright, I shall try my best. But my word, my other self was not kidding when she called you two battle junkies."

"Hey, nothing wrong with a friendly brawl!"

"Captain, your 'friendly brawls' usually destroy mountains." Merlin shook her head as she crossed her arms in visible disappointment.

"Exactly what I am talking about." Albedo laughed.

"Hey, don't gang up on me!"

"But you make it so easy!"

"He's got ya there man." the third dwarf, named Lewis, spoke up, siding with Albedo, with his mug raised high. In response to everyone wholeheartedly laughing, Meliodas hung his head and in the end gave in, himself laughing as well.

The group continued talking till a bit into the afternoon as they asked Albedo to talk about every place he has ended up at so far. To the alien's surprise the being in front of him, according to Death's info no doubt several times older than him, was listening with interest. According to his other self, this was a rare occurrence. Nonetheless by the middle of it all he was telling his stories almost as if venting, but the others didn't seem to mind it, more like they were even more entranced. He probably wouldn't have admitted in his older days, but now Albedo was certain it felt good to talk a little about all that was troubling him, even if to a certain degree everyone in the room was a stranger to him.

"Whew, thank you for listening everybody."

"No, thank you for telling us all this!" princess Elizabeth responded with a warm smile, "This all sounds like so much trouble."

"Oh believe me it is." Albedo nodded with a sigh, "But currently, as troubling as it is, there is not much I can do about it. I know almost next to nothing about it and its origins."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but this is all very intriguing." Merlin mused.

"Oh I will not, no worries. I know this sort of thing is somewhat your expertise." Albedo shrugged, "I wanted to ask that on the off chance that the portal starts appearing and/or bringing things here, could all of you keep an eye out? I know I do not have to worry about your wellbeing, but your world on the other hand could be in danger depending on wherever it opens."

"We can do that, sure." Meliodas nodded, "But we don't really have a way to contact you do we?"

"Ah, yes of course. A moment." Albedo nodded in realization as he reached into his pocket and picked up a small zipper bag full of small earpieces. "These little guys are something I made for occasions just like this. All you have to do is put it in your ear and think of the one you want to talk with, it is all telepathical of course, and it does indeed work across dimensions." he then added, "However if the talking partner does not have telepathical powers or something similar the communication is only one way."

"Interesting." Merlin smiled as she picked out one of the devices from the bag, "And it needs no source of energy?"

"It has a built in one, on the off chance that it ever fully drains, which hopefully will not come to pass, just put it out into the sun for a couple hours and it should recharge."

"I see."

"Well, on that note, whilst I would love to stay longer I am afraid we have somewhere to be."

"Hey, I understand." Meliodas shrugged, "As long as you do come back it's all fine."

"I once again give my word." he then turned to the three dwarves only to see in surprise that each of them had three flasks flung over their shoulders, no doubt full of the ale they have just gotten served. "You three, I know I said it is on me, but this is ridiculous."

"But it's damn good ale son!" Simon proudly put a fist to his chest causing Albedo to sigh, and the other three to chuckle at his expense.

"Alright, we best be off now." Albedo waved goodbye to the three inhabitants of the tavern he just met, "See you around everyone."

"Likewise." Meliodas grinned as Albedo conjured up a red swirling portal and stepped into it with a final wave after the three dwarves had entered. Interestingly enough the life in the tavern soon went back to its regular cycle, awaiting the customers that would no doubt come in a couple hours, nonetheless none of them forgetting their interesting visitor for a moment.

** _Formerly Occupied Cavern, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

The sorceress was tirelessly pacing around her corner of the cavern, almost considering chewing on her nails in a cartoon like fashion. She couldn't even try to refute that she was worried out of her mind for the Galvan's safety, even with his special circumstances. She clearly understood that on paper she shouldn't have to really worry about anything, but that meager thought was not enough to stop herself. The Doctor worriedly watched on the sidelines, not able to think of anything convincing enough to stop the young girl. That, however, did not mean he was not going to try.

"Come now, Charmcaster-"

"Hope is fine." she said rapidly.

" _Hope_, we both know that he's going to be more than fine, so why worry this much?" he pleaded with a small smile, "Does this other 'personality' worry you this much? Or is it something else?"

"It's everything, Doctor!" the sorceress snapped almost too loudly, "He never thinks about what he does and just goes along with the flow, he's way too reckless. The problem is that he wasn't even like this. Ever since he found out he can't die, he's been exploiting it more and more, in places where Ben or even I couldn't see, or where we were separated or the like. He thinks we did not notice... But, I just can't get it through to him that there _are_ people who care about him, I-"

"I am pretty certain he knows that."

"Huh?"

"It may not be my place to speak, but back in your base, the way he hugged you, how gentle he treated you... I think he's more afraid of hurting all of you in any way. Speaking from experience, he probably doesn't want to let you all in too close, as you have said, but he struggles with keeping up with that so instead he projects it out in what he deems to be actions that protect you all. I stand by what I just said, that he genuinely cares about you all... But maybe it's the other way around from what we thought."

"What... What do you mean?" Charmcaster asked in a confused worry, not liking one bit where the Doctor might be taking this conversation.

"Maybe it's not that he doesn't want to get close to you all... Maybe he just wants you to think that you aren't close so..."

"So it's easier on us when we start to age..." Charmcaster was hit with realization as she uttered those words, "That idiot..."

As Charmcaster was now thinking of ways to let her anger out on the Galvan for everything in the recent days, as if to answer her thoughts the portal that they saw Albedo make, or at least they thought it was his what with the red color, open up in the middle of the cavern and after a couple minutes, three dwarves stepped out, visibly happy that they were back somewhere they were familiar with. After the trio looked around, Albedo himself has stepped out from it, closing it behind him with a snap of his fingers, no doubt just for extra flair.

As he turned around, his eyes laid upon his companions, the sorceress and the time traveler. As soon as they noticed him however, Albedo took note of the fact that the sorceress was steadily making her way over to him. What unnerved him a bit was that she was getting faster and faster.

"Ah, Hope, Doctor! I feel like it has been a minute-" what followed was the echoing sound of a slap as Albedo's head has turned to the right from the impact, a brief moment of surprise flashing on his paint as the Doctor cringed at the sight, backing up a bit to give the two enough space to talk in private, though still keeping an eye on the two. As Albedo turned back, a red mark of a hand clearly visible on his left cheek, all he saw was the teary-eyed sorceress standing in front of him. "Hope, I-" but then came the next surprise as the girl suddenly embraced him and held him close, burying her teary face into his shoulder. "...I deserved that." he said silently, giving in. With the dwarves and the Doctor watching silently on the sidelines, Albedo let the crying girl let it all out whilst silently and gently patting her on the back. It was a good while before he spoke up again, "I realize that I have gone above and beyond in worrying you, that is not how I should treat my little sister, or anyone for that matter. For that I feel I must apologize." he stated as he pulled Charmcaster apart enough so they could look at each other, "I... I did not want all of you to feel that you need to worry about me, but it appears I have failed. I caused you, dear, to think of such drastic methods as well, I am ashamed. I took on the role of your sibling, and the leader, to make me seem dependable... To have some relations, but as it stands now, I do not believe I am qualified."

"W-what are you talking about?!" Charmcaster snapped, "We follow your lead because we think you're capable of it! Ben himself admitted that he doesn't have any problems with you taking charge so why-" it was then that she realized what he has said exactly in the middle of his response, "Y-you knew?"

Albedo just smiled warmly, "Of course I knew. I would be ashamed if I did not at least guess your intentions." her face then flushed with worry, "But I do not have any right to tell you to stop."

"H-huh?" Charmcaster was visibly surprised at that statement.

"Immortality is such a huge burden, but if you have already resigned yourself, I cannot well enough deny you... If you are really positive about going through with it, and are certain you are ready, I say you should then go for it." he smiled as he pulled her closer into a hug, before he whispered into her ear that made her eyes go wide, " _I just feel like I would snap under pressure alone otherwise._"

"How did you go from an arrogant mess to an emotional one?" Charmcaster chuckled and teased the former Galvan as she wiped away the tears, trying hard to cheer them both up.

"One of life's many mysteries I suppose." Albedo shrugged with a warm smile, "Thank you." he declared gently, "I shall try my best to not worry you all as much."

"You better keep that this time." the sorceress pouted, which soon caused both of them to chuckle.

"Of course."

"Nice to see you two work out your differences." the Doctor chuckled as he walked up to them.

"Well, if I stop being a blockhead and taking more and more after Benjamin, maybe things will change." Albedo shrugged, "It almost feels like we swapped personalities." he added with a laugh. "Nonetheless, are you two alright? I have not had a chance to catch up with you for a bit."

"Everything's okay." Charmcaster nodded.

"And I believe we are ready to move on now yeah? We're still missing a considerable amount of our group."

"Indeed, we should move." Albedo nodded, "You two get to the TARDIS, I shall be there in just a moment."

"Alright. Don't take your time." the sorceress added with a smile as she turned around and the two of them headed off.

The former Galvan walked over to the dwarven mining group with a guilty smile on his face and his hand on the back of his head. As soon as they saw him approaching, most of the dwarves stopped talking as Orwell and Simon stepped forward, awaiting him with crossed arms and arms on his hips respectively.

"So yer goin' then?" Orwell asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I am afraid we have to move on, that is if we want to have a chance in finding our group." he let out a short sigh, "Listen, I would like to apologize to all of you-"

"Apologize fer what exactly?"

"Yeah, we should be thanking you." Simon nodded along, the humble leader looking down in shame, "This all happened under my leadership, if you and Orwell didn't take action... Who know, maybe not all of us would be here anymore."

"C'mon Boss, yer makin' me out ta be some sort of hero." Orwell laughed heartily, "I took point when no one would, I don' really deserve anythin' for that."

"On the contrary." Albedo spoke up catching both of their attention, "You took lead in a critical moment, and on top of that kept your small team's morale up along with keeping your head on straight." he looked him in the eye, "That takes tremendous effort, not to collapse under pressure I mean. And I believe our appearance, and my... _charisma_, only added to your stress. In my humble opinion you should think highly of yourself."

"Yeah, exactly my point!" Simon nodded, "This is why I chose you as a step-in leader in the first place." he smiled, "And to spite you because you didn't want to be one."

"Oh, I'm gonna get ya back fer this one." Orwell grumbled before the three of them broke out into a laugh, "Haah, either way, we really can't thank ya enough. I just wish ya could stay a bit longer or something, but I get it, we can't keep ya."

"Well, I do indeed feel like we barely got to know each other and are already parting... Hmm, what say you two that we return after we find our group? Would that be a bother?"

"A bother? Son, ya really can't be one, trust me."

"It might take a while however." he added sadly.

"No worries about that! The mines are safe now, we'll go back to work right away after a little rest anyway so we'll be here-"

"Hold on!" Orwell almost shouted, "Is that 'corrodium' stuff really aroun' 'ere?" he worriedly asked, "That ain't exactly healthy for our long-term health."

"Ah, that. No, no! I have found out that the corrodium was in the world our ghostly adversary took your boss and his group to. It should be safe to continue your operation around here. And in the case there _does_ happen to be one, the glow should give it away as for you to not approach it... On the other hand, you can isolate them like last time quite well can you not?"

"I should hope so! We did it one time, but hopefully there won't be a next."

"I shall trust you with it then." Albedo smiled as he stepped back with a smile, "In that case, do keep up the good work! We shall return whenever possible." he smiled with a wave as he suddenly disappeared from in front of their eyes.

"Is... Is that normal?" Simon asked in surprise, Orwell however just chuckled.

"With that kid around, nothin' is really normal." he shrugged soon after, "Now c'mon boss, let's get the bunch together, we are falling behind on schedule!"

"Am I really still the boss around here?" Simon asked under his breath with a small snicker as he joined his colleague.

** _Initial Cavern, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

Charmcaster and the Doctor just arrived in the location where they have arrived at with the TARDIS, the sorceress only just now realizing that it wasn't there. Her surprise was short lived however as the Doctor pulled out a cylindrical device from one of his pockets, pointed it in front of him and with the press of the button the TARDIS appeared once again.

"Okay, I was about to freak out." she admitted, "What did you do when I wasn't looking?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Just put it one second out of sync, last thing I wanted is something to try to get to my TARDIS." the Doctor explained, "I'm surprised though, you were here when I did it."

"I think I just had a lot on my mind." the girl admitted, "Now where is-"

"Right behind you."

What followed was a high pitched scream from the girl as she reflexively punched behind her, causing the Galvan-turned-Reaper to catch it in self-defense, "Don't. Do. That!"

"I apologize!" he held up his arms in defense, "I really did not think I would appear behind you! And you have to admit by the point I appeared here whatever I would have done would have scared you!"

"Right, right." she nodded before putting a hand to her chest and letting out a sigh, "But work on that please."

"I have been trying." Albedo shrugged, "Now, are we ready to leave? Or more so, are _you_ ready to continue this?"

"I had my time to rest whilst you were gone, thank you very much." Charmcaster reassured him, "I've got a few more rounds in me. Hopefully we won't have to go through that many though."

"Don't jinx it." the Doctor added as he boarded his ship, "At this point anything can happen."

"True." the white haired duo nodded, as they too have entered.

** _Inside the TARDIS_ **

"Well, let us be off then." Albedo smiled as he closed the doors behind him, "Hope, if you would?"

"On it chief!" she nodded as she walked closer to the device on the control panel, "Here goes nothing."

In a couple minutes, the sorceress' eyes opened up in a brilliant magenta glow as the TARDIS immediately began shaking and in a matter of second, with its signature noise, it departed into the time stream. The trio was off on the search once again.

** _Alright, things are going along somewhat swimmingly for the group with only a few mild hiccups and existential crises. But that, at this point, is par for the course for this group of characters._ **

** _On the more important things, our rather violent personality finally makes a more extended appearance, and as it turns out he is as confused as his other two hosts. The meeting with about a quarter of the Sins, was in plans since the meeting with female Albedo, albeit a real extended meeting with all the others is only somewhere down the line. The little devices for interdimensional communication are Galvan tech combined with some alternate dimension know-how and Galvanic Mechamorph upgrades Albedo whipped up in his little free time. The dwarven story line was something that was in the original drafts too a couple years back, but I never really liked how they have turned out so I'm much more satisfied with this rendition, as it also introduced a potentially recurring villain... and his _master _. Keeping up with annoying suspense generating factors though, the master will be revealed at a later date._ **

** _Also, if by chance it did not come across, the whole desolated world was supposed to be the Earth where that Zs'Skayr came from, that's why the green theme was apparent there as well, however for the current timeline, if at all, that place will not be important._ **

** _Also, yes, the dwarves mentioned by name who may sound familiar to you _are _ in fact named after three Yogscast members and Jacksepticeye. Why? Because it was supposed to happen. That is all._ **

** _The next chapter is the last part of this mini arc, after that we're going onto a promise Albedo has made to young Ace way back in Arc 1. One storyline I have been wanting to write for a good while, but of course nothing ever goes as planned when it's about me._ **

** _Anyway, see you soon._ **


	8. Limbo

Chapter 8: Limbo

** _Outside the Hokage Residence, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

** _ Jeff_**

"How many of these fuckin' things are there?!" Jeff snapped as he got rid of a pack of fake Loboans surrounding him, proceeded to grab one's head with his right hand and just explode it with brute force, the goo enveloping his hand in his fury, "These god damn things are not even the least bit tough or worth it, why is there so many of them?!" the last part of the question came out unnaturarily fast, as he was now more angry about his hoodie being dirty again than just the impossibility of the amount of enemies.

"Maybe because _someone_ left the portal unattended?! I dunno, that surely _can't_ be it can it?" Rainbow snapped herself as she flew by him, her sheer speed causing the wind to cut through another group. She did a dive into another group, scattering them as she, with unusual capability with her human body, roundhouse kicked them into a nearby wall, creating a large puddle of grey goo. 'Alright, this is kinda terrifying.' she admitted as she looked at her hands.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?!"

"No, you didn't." Rainbow and Naruto responded in surprising unison as the ninja was effortlessly wiping out groups himself, to nobody's surprise, without the use of any techniques lest his dear teacher rip his head off for damaging the village. Not that he himself hadn't seen enough destruction in the past 6 months either.

"Wha- I was sure I-" he scratched his chin in confusion, however he was interrupted by a fake Loboan sinking its teeth into his neck, "That hurts you dumb mutt!" he shouted as he elbowed the creature into its group and finished them off with his knife. "Aaargh, this is so goddamn confusin'!"

"Just what kind of world did you even come from dude?" Rainbow asked with a deadpan face upon witnessing the carnage that Jeff brough to the battlefield following his little outburst. Bodies slowly turned into puddles around him with numerous amounts of cuts and fist shaped holes lining their bodies.

"Look, the whole 'supernatural powers' thing was a new thing to me too okay?"

"Suure~" Rainbow shrugged, "Of course."

"Hey! When did I ever lie to you?!"

"'Bout ten-fifteen minutes ago?"

"...Fair."

As the duo's banter continued on, the blond ninja successfully finished off what seemed to be the last group. As the somewhat quiet drumming of the portal seemed to have died down, possibly meaning its closure. The walkway in front of the Hokage Residence was filled with splotches of grey goo that were slowly dissipating under the light and warmth of the sun above. Naruto shook off some of the remnants from the single kunai he used as a weapon during the whole duration of this small-scale battle.

"Looks like we're done." he declared with a small smile and a short sigh.

As that statement was said the trio heard the sound of clapping coming from behind them. Jeff's ears perked up at what seemed to be a subtle metallic clang accompanying the gesture as he turned around with a surprised expression which soon turned into a wide-eyed stare. Behind them, in front of the building, stood an older gentleman, sporting a black turtleneck and a white scarf underneath a brown vest with a fancy white coat which was adorned with a gold trim and black and brown pouches, black pants and brown boots with gold straps in addition to a pair of goggles around his neck completing his ensemble. The metallic gauntlet in place of his right hand was a clear explanation of the clangs.

"Well done everyone!" the former professor complimented the trio.

"Oh boy, what have you got for us this time?" Jeff sighed, his surprised stare turning into a look of mild annoyance.

The professor however only chuckled in response, "My, I always tend to forget how you react to my appearances Jeffrey."

"Good to know, cause first time meetin' ya." Jeff shrugged as he put away his knife, "What sort of tragedy awaits us this time Prof? Assumin' you can talk about it or whatever?"

"Thankfully, nothing of the sort my immortal friend." Paradox shook his head with a smile, "Well _hopefully _nothing of the sort at least. My appearance here is purely for sharing information to assure things proceed how they are intended to."

"Meaning if you _didn't_ show, something terrible would have happened?"

"That entirely depends on your choices."

"And that isn't super ominous at all."

"Haha, apologies, let me get straight to the point then." the professor declared with his smile slowly disappearing, a serious expression now etched onto his face, "Now, normally you and I both know I do not share information about the upcoming future, yet this was how things were meant to play out in this timeline. That is, in about 8 hours all seven of you, as in you and your little equine companions, are about to depart into another world again, this is something that is unfortunately unavoidable. As I have said, I am merely here to tell you of the fact that it will happen. However, your choices Jeffrey, are what _will_ decide where the world line will end up proceeding forward towards. As much as it would make me happy to tell you outright, that is obviously not possible."

"Oh gee, thanks, that's sooo much better." Jeff sarcastically groaned as the professor just chuckled.

"Just make sure to protect those with you." the professor warned much to Jeff's dismay, "Lest you be forever trapped. Though I suppose, I of all people do not have to tell you that."

"Oh you're slowly makin' it worse! How the hell do you do that so casually?"

"I must admit, this meeting was brought to my attention quite at the last minute, but one must do what they must do." he declared with a shrug, "What young Albedo brought about with changes to this one world line has thrown me for a loop not once by this point... That has not happened in a good millennia. Nonetheless, I best be off now, I have to meet with your dear friends after all. Inform them as well."

"Time travelers and their messed up timelines..." Jeff grumbled to himself before just shrugged, "Fine, fine, do your thing, I'll do my best. But if even you only have a shoddy idea, the hell do you expect _me_ to do about these things?" he angrily ruffled his hair, then his face slowly morphed into a creepy smile, enhanced by his scars, "Not how I imagined my life going a couple years ago. But what the hell, this is dope!" the professor just disappeared with a small smile in the same cryptic way as he appeared.

"Okay, who was that dude?" Rainbow spoke up, somewhat irritated, by this point not the least bit unnerved by Jeff's horrifying grin, "And why- No, _how_ do you know him?"

"That, Dashie, was Professor Paradox. Dude's a time traveler, kinda different from the Doc, but fundamentally the same. Though usually when _he_ shows up something really terrible is about to happen... Like that dear warning he just shoved on us."

"I can attest to that." Naruto chipped in, "Last time I saw him, he casually dumped the whole dimensional convergence thingy onto us."

"Oh yeah, Albedo told me about that, great stuff." Jeff shuddered, "Not like we didn't have enough bullshit to worry about already."

"Big bro Naruto!" the little Hanako came rushing over from the entrance of the building, "Lord Hokage said he wants to see all of you!"

"Oh great." both Naruto and Jeff gulped in apparent worry whilst the flying former pegasus girl just landed next to them, confusion visible on her face. "Let's go then, better not keep Sensei waiting." Naruto shrugged as the trio followed the little girl without fail.

** _Kakashi's Office, Hokage Residence, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

"Enter." came Kakashi's voice from inside the office upon Naruto's knock on the door. The trio, with Jeff having put his bandana back on, entered the room to be greeted with the masked ninja crossing his hands in front of his face on the table. "I trust you managed to clear up our 'problem'?"

"Of course." Naruto grinned, crossing his hands on the back of his head, "I was surprised you didn't come rushing down like last time."

"Your young friends here have convinced me that it wouldn't be necessary." the Hokage chuckled as he pointed towards Twilight and Kikuchi, the boy sitting on the former unicorn's lap.

"I figured that even if I didn't know about Naruto, with Jeff and Rainbow around there wouldn't be a problem." Twilight chipped in with a shrug, "Seems the gamble worked."

"Yeah, it worked, but it wouldn't have needed to work if my dumbass paid more attention." Jeff groaned, "Either way, it's over, and besides a whole bunch of disheartening news we came out unscathed." he added with a shrug as he noticed Kakashi staring at him, however he couldn't quite discern what emotions were running through him, "Sup?"

"You're Jeff, I take it?"

"Yup. Sorry for the attitude and all, not really one to speak normally." he shrugged, "Either way, if you spoke to Twilight, I think you know that I'm connected to Albedo?"

"Yes, I do." Kakashi nodded, "It was quite a surprise to hear his name after Naruto told me what happened with the two of them, is he doing okay?"

"I hope." Jeff responded as Kakashi just raised an eyebrow, apparently this was not something they touched upon, "Well you see-" Jeff for the next ten minutes explained the whole event line that lead to them arriving in front of the Hidden Leaf after a nice introduction with the Forest of Death. "And now that Paradox gave us that great warning, I'm feelin' just damn peachy."

"I can see that." the Hokage nodded, according to him, Naruto has also filled him in about the good professor, "I suppose that portal that opened just now then-"

"Yeah, it connected somewhere else. And as it turned out, it really wasn't pleasant." Jeff shrugged, "Not like they left a trace." he clapped his hands together, "So, on that note I wanted to talk about our stay here with you and all, but apparently we won't really be around for that much longer."

"I suppose not." Kakashi nodded, "Your group always just comes and goes huh?" he added with a chuckle, "I am thankful that you thought of even reporting you guys being here."

"I mean, people like us stand out way too much, so rather than get the news from some third party I figured I'd just come straight here." Jeff shrugged again, "And to be honest, it _was_ kinda a dream to meet you all, although not like this that's for sure."

"I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around this world being a television series somewhere out there."

"Ha, you know, you've seen one weird thing you've seen them all."

"I suppose so." the masked ninja shrugged, "Though it is weirder that someone I didn't know prior to today knows _that_ much about me."

"Dimension travel will do that to ya."

Following this little exchange, Jeff and Kakashi continued to speak for a good hour about everything that has happened on both sides since Albedo has disappeared. The two former pony girls, along with the pair of siblings were listening intently. The duo got into such a passionate exchange that Naruto was starting to be surprised that Jeff could act as crude and violent as he did an hour ago. Soon after, they have said their goodbyes as Kakashi went back to work, and a satisfied Jeff left with the two girls and Naruto. Hanako and Kikuchi on the other hand too went back to their assigned 'jobs'. According to Hanako 'it was fun', a fact Jeff could never understand. 'Oh, girly how soon will you realize that nothing is fun in office work?' Jeff chuckled inwardly.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Rainbow spoke up as the four of them stood in front of the Hokage Residence, "According to that professor guy we have about 8 hours before we end up somewhere else again. Let's make the best of that!"

"Weell~." Jeff spoke up curtly, putting a hand to his chin, "I've always wanted to try Teuchi's ramen, and since I now have the opportunity... What say you Naruto?"

"Sure, I was just getting hungry." he chuckled.

"Oh, wait. Does this guy serve anything without meat?"

"I think he does, why?"

"Probably for us." Twilight spoke up, "We might be physically human now, but I don't know if eating meat sits right with either of our original stomachs, or mentalities."

"Ah, yeah, that's a thing." Rainbow awkwardly declared.

"Rainbow!"

"What?! I forgot okay?" the rainbow haired girl crossed her arms with a pout, "That device thingy is way too powerful, I really think I could eat meat now."

"D-doesn't that feel wrong?"

"Eh, not really?" the former pegasus followed up with a shrug, "I mean, unlike back home where carnivores are not that common, this world is for humans, and most animals are more than likely not as... smart as back home."

"Smart?" Naruto chipped in, in surprise.

"Ah, their world is a fantasy world, ya know with gryphons and manticores and the stuff. Most of the animals can communicate in their own methods and are quite smart, so of course it'd feel like killing your next-door neighbor for food." Jeff explained, "Around here, from my knowledge only the summoned animals have thoughts and speech capability, right?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded before his eyes went wide, "Those and... Star."

"Oh shit." Jeff suddenly realized as well, "Yeah, how can... How can that spider talk?" it was then that he and Naruto looked at each other with a pained expression.

"The portal..?" they both declared at first confidently but it died down by the end of the word.

"A single spider?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"She may have been an extra from when Albedo came around." Jeff mused, "Not noticing the portal opening when he didn't even know it was a thing is not that farfetched."

"But why in my room?"

"That is the bigger part of the problem." Jeff nodded, "But so far she's harmless, isn't she? And you have a talking buddy now!"

Naruto's eyes went wide before he started laughing, "Yeah, that's true."

"Either way, back to the initial topic Twiley, no one is forcing you to, but your current body should be able to handle it... If you're comfortable with the idea that is. Though, I'm pretty sure Teuchi can cook ya up something you will enjoy."

"Eh, I'm still gonna try it." Rainbow shrugged. "Don't always get the opportunity."

"A-are you sure?"

"Look Egghead, I was a herbivore not a vegetarian." Rainbow chuckled, "Besides, I'm always up for new things."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Naruto smiled at the, to outside listeners, odd exchange as he turned to lead the way towards his favorite ramen shop.

** _Ichiraku Ramen, Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

As Naruto lead the group through the city, the girls continued to marvel at the size and the architecture of the large village, seeing different shops and all kinds of people walk and work up and about the streets were somewhat exciting, even considering what they have been through recently. They were more often than not given side glances, but they couldn't really blame the people of the village, considering they still, even with Naruto, stuck out like a sore thumb. However, Naruto being there _did_ help them somewhat get used to their presence.

The girls were the first to enter through the small curtains of the shop, the owner almost immediately ushering them to sit with a smile. But as soon as he saw Naruto enter, he smiled much more warmly, the boy returning the gesture as he himself took a seat, Jeff entering soon after.

"Ah, Naruto! Good to see you!"

"Same to you pops." Naruto chuckled as he took note of the other guests in the shop, those to his surprise being Hinata and her team, sans their teacher, the girl in question going red in surprise for a couple seconds, more so for the fact that Naruto was yet another with two unknown girls. "Oh, hey guys!"

"Naruto! It's been a while." Kiba grinned widely as he put a hand on the blond's shoulder, "What've you been up to, or more like, who're your friends?" he then leaned in close his smile quickly fading, "Are you cheating on Hinata?"

"Kiba!" the girl, now even redder, shrieked slightly at the accusation.

Naruto looked surprised for a second before he started laughing, much to both Kiba's and Hinata's surprise, "Do you really think I would do that?"

"H-huh?"

Jeff then walked up next to them, his masked appearance and pale complexion visibly giving Kiba a fright, which was further reinforced once his blue eyes barely locked with his before he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder as well who, in turn, looked up at him, his eyes then landed on Kiba again "Do they..?" he asked somewhat silently.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. They know, they've met." Naruto confirmed much to Team 8's confusion. Their confusion only worsened when the sudden tense aura almost immediately dissipated and the masked man could almost be seen smiling even with their mask on.

"Oh okay then, that's cool." Jeff chuckled, "In that case nice to meet all of ya. I'm Jeff."

"Uh, hi?" Kiba asked in surprise.

"These three are Albedo's friends." Naruto clarified, as even Teuchi started listening in. "The portal opened again and they somehow ended up here of all places."

"Oh wow." Kiba suddenly relaxed, which Jeff thought was unusual, "That's a surprise. It's been a good couple months since they... left."

"Yeah, he told me about it." Jeff nodded, "Believe me he'll come back sometime, he misses you lot." he shrugged, "But for now, we can talk with food, cause I'm starvin'." it was then that he took of his bandana that the surprises for Team 8 continued, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Sooo, anyway, you guys are Naruto's friends I guess?" Rainbow spoke up, her mouth now full of hot food.

"Eh, Rainbow, do you usually talk with a mouth full?" Jeff spoke up incredulously.

"It hot!" she wheezed out between ragged breaths.

"Eat it slowly then!" Jeff deadpanned, "It ain't rocket science!"

This little exchange was sufficient enough to lighten the mood for everyone as even Teuchi laughed along, he not being one to care about appearances, and Team 8 was now slowly warming up to their new guests. They each introduced themselves, as Jeff and Naruto recounted their odd meeting at the start of this day, as the trio listened attentively.

"So, I take it Albedo is probably searching for you?" Shino spoke up, "Along with this Doctor?"

"More than likely." Jeff nodded between bites, "Though it's probably really damn hard even with the TARDIS." he shrugged, "And as I told you we didn't exactly get the best of news an hour ago."

"But was he supposed to tell you that?" Kiba asked honestly, "Isn't that a spoiler or whatever?"

"Apparently if he didn't tell us it wouldn't have happened which would have been bad otherwise." Jeff sighed.

"God, time travel is so damn confusing."

"Preaching to the choir." Rainbow nodded along.

"Either way, in about 6 hours and a bit we will be once again whisked off to god knows where without any rhyme or reason." Jeff groaned, "But hey, at least we got food." he added with a shrug.

"You seem quite easygoing about all this." Shino added.

"Oh no far from it. I may be immortal but if I die everyone will be temporarily in danger, I am worrying beyond belief and hiding my fears in food. But thank you for the vote of confidence Shino." he then turned to Teuchi, "And you sir, thank you for the great food."

"Hey, I'm glad that even otherworlders enjoy my food!" the master laughed. "Enjoy yourself, and rest so you can be ready for whatever it is that may come."

"Oh, you better believe I will." Jeff laughed, "It seems like you two enjoy the food as well eh?"

"Of course!" Rainbow nodded vigorously, "This is so good!"

"Yup, more votes for food perfection!"

"W-whenever Albedo comes back, will you guys come too?" Hinata spoke up with a small smile.

"I don't see why not." Jeff nodded, "There's still a good bit I wanna see in the village, and without the overarching dread of not being safe anywhere looming over my shoulders would be way nicer than right now. Either way though, it was really good to meet you all, kinda like a dream come true."

"And _I_ can't believe our life is a TV show in some other world, man!" Kiba laughed, "That's equally weird."

"Cheers for weirdness then!" he laughed as the others joined in too, spending at least another half hour in Teuchi's shop, who himself did not mind the company at all, even with Jeff's occasional crude language use. After everyone has finished their food and they paid, the group said their current final goodbyes in front of the shop as Team 8 headed off towards a different direction, leaving Naruto, Jeff and the two pony girls by their lonesome once again.

"Alright then, wanna go back home and play some games?" Naruto offered as Jeff's and Rainbow's eyes almost lit up visually as well.

"Sure why not! We have a good couple hours to kill."

Once back at Naruto's house they found the others tuckered out and sleeping the whole day away, to the point where Jeff almost felt bad waking them all up and dumping bad news on them right off the bat, _almost._ He enjoyed it much more where he could scare everyone but Fluttershy awake, causing him to get hit by both Rainbow and Twilight, but also to laugh out loud, the laughing eventually waking up the pegasus as well. Still the news weren't exactly taken keenly by anyone in the room either, to no one's real surprise.

As Jeff explained what they would be doing going forward, everyone seemed to be on the agreement that they had no possible way of waiting it out until Albedo and the Doctor found them, especially with how likely it was for the portal to take them even further after the upcoming transfer. Their situation itself was an uncertain one, without any way to make it certain. Naruto wanted to do his best and support them, however that obviously would have been futile after the time limit was up as he couldn't really just up and vanish himself and go with them, and as weird as it was for him to put his trust in him, he seemed to instinctively know that Jeff would stop at nothing to protect the group, easing his worries a little.

As they continued their talk, Naruto brought out some cards from a nearby drawer and some of them started to play in rotation, at the same time still discussing what their plan would be in the coming days, or worse weeks. None of them were certain at all that they would be returning home, however no one dared mention this fact out loud fearing that they would bring the mood down.

However, as the girls have gotten into the card game, the mood only seemed to be on the rise. Everyone was really enjoying themselves, keeping scores and having a great time caused them to quite literally forget about all their troubles even if only for a spell. No one seemed to realize by then that at best only a couple minutes were left since the promised time by the time traveler. In the end it was Twilight who caught everyone's attention about ten minutes before the portal was supposed to appear.

"Goddammit and I was havin' so much fun too!" Jeff groaned in annoyance as he put down his cards on the table and got up, all the pony girls around him doing their fair share of groans, "This isn't the last time you have faced me Naruto!" he suddenly shouted all dramatically, "You will rue the day you have crossed me!"

"I will be ready for your return." Naruto said, mimicking a samurai hand motion and bowing, which caused both of them to burst out laughing, "Hah, I'm gonna miss you guys."

"Same here big guy." Rainbow smiled as she put a wing around him to symbolize a hug, "But with how things are going, I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Oh definitely." Derpy nodded, "Nothing is certain other than the uncertain."

"Well, if that ain't profound, I dunno what is." Jeff deadpanned before smiling and reaching out a hand, Naruto walked closer and shook it, "It was really nice meeting you."

"Same here bud." Naruto nodded. "Till next time?"

"Of cour-" however without finishing his sentence the portal closed just as fast as it opened, taking all of them but Naruto with it, who was just left there in stunned silence.

"That's a first... That's not good." he muttered to himself in worry.

** _Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D._ **

The portal, as if for nostalgia's sake albeit for the wrong people, opened up in the middle of the night sky above what undeniably was a wasteland. Jeff opened his eyes to find themselves several meters up in the air, at a distance where the fall at best would break bones, at worst would prove to be lethal. In an almost reflexive action he reached for his knife before clicking that it would be useless here, so he did the next best thing, started shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Oi, flying people, on the double!"

The shout shook the others awake, the portal's transition somehow knocking every one of them out, including the recently awoken Jeff, as Fluttershy, Derpy and Rainbow each caught one person, the shy pegasus with a bit more trouble and a lot less grace as she winced in pain from her still healing wing, so now the only one still falling was none other than Jeff who just, potentially, smiled underneath his bandana with a thumbs up given to the three pegasi.

"Aight! Nice going everyone!" he shouted as he plummeted closer and closer to certain doom, everybody turning their heads away as they only heard a thud on the cracked ground. They almost immediately flew after him, finding him with his neck at an unnatural angle as his eyes focused on them, however when he tried to speak, no sound came out, only pain. That was enough for him to pick his head up from the ground, as it healed itself back to its original position unnaturarily fast. "Alright, so this is a shitty predicament." he declared, taking up the position of Captain Obvious, "You lot alright?"

"As alright as we could be sugarcube." Applejack sighed as Derpy put her down on solid ground, "The same can't be said for you I suppose."

"Eh, I'll manage." Jeff shrugged, "But I have the sinking feeling that this place is not gonna be healthy in the morning so we probably should find shelter." he let out an annoyed sigh, "Anyone have any good ideas?"

"I see a building over there." Fluttershy meekly pointed to their left where indeed stood a building, albeit half buried and quite crooked.

"Well, it's certainly better than nothing." Twilight sighed, not seeing any alternatives in their immediate surroundings, "Let's go everyone, I learned one thing and that's to trust Jeff's unnatural instincts."

"Couldn't ya have called it something more... _flattering,_ Twiley?" Jeff groaned as he walked up closer to the lavender unicorn.

"I will, when you start acting at least somewhat comprehensible."

"So never, I get it." Jeff laughed, Rainbow, to the unicorn's surprise, joining him. "Either way we went from bad to worse. Now we have a timer for a different reason."

"How do you know that the morning isn't safe?" Pinkie couldn't help but ask.

"This place's vibes seem eerily familiar to the one wasteland Albedo and Charmcaster told me about, she's another friend, and in that world Albedo has determined that the Sun pretty much just straight up kills things, so I really don't want eternal suffering for myself, and temporary suffering for you all." he shrugged, "So ya know, lookin' out and all that." he then shuddered, "There are also Sandworms on this world so be really, _really_ careful not to get hurt, at all. AT. **ALL**."

"Okay, okay jeez. We get it." Rainbow groaned, "What's so bad about some worms anyway?" however to her immediate surprise Jeff got right up into her face unnaturarily close, his eyes wide with what appeared to be fear more than insanity, "W-what?"

"You do not know, of course you do not." Jeff muttered, "Sandworms are something you should fear, you should have nightmares about, you should only see at the end of the line where everything already went to shit by then. Sandworms are indestructible creatures of destruction right on the tippy-top of all the food chains that ever existed. Imagine a goddamn shark, except it's a stupid worm that's over 50 meters long, has indestructible projectile scales and only cares about devouring you whole." he shuddered once again, "They are _the_ apex predator, up there with _that_ goddamn mantis. If you see one you better prey you are faster or you will never live to see the next minute." he then cracked his knuckles as if to help him calm down, "It also doesn't help that I was semi digested by one before I clawed my way outside."

Everyone visible started shivering at the information just given to them, almost as if they only just now noticed that the wasteland at night was quite a cold place. The rest of the trip towards the building was very, _very_ quiet as they were now a hundred times more careful not to get hurt, because apparently even a drop of blood would spell their doom. Something that was capable of stopping Jeff would more than one hundred percent mean their demise.

** _Long abandoned Building, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D._ **

As they arrived at the building, Jeff suggested they climb the stairs so they be at a safer vantage point for the next day, as they will have to spend the whole day inside, considering that they more than likely barely had any time left of the night. As they found a suitable place on what formerly could have been a floor on a higher elevation, Twilight began doing her best on setting up a fire so that the group wouldn't freeze to death.

"Alright, so..." Rainbow spoke up, her behavior immediately suggesting that she was already bored, "What do we do now?"

"If you don't have a way to open up a portal outta fuckin' nowhere, I say we wait." Jeff shrugged as he laid back on the dusty ground.

"That's your great plan?"

"Look, whaddaya want me to say?" Jeff looked up at the pegasus, "That it'll all be okay, and we'll all be fine? Well, news flash. I can't fucking guarantee that! I told ya lot a buncha times, I'm not either the Doctor or Albedo, I'm not the great Ben Tennyson, I'm no one. If you have a better plan, I'm all ears an' listenin'!" he waited a couple seconds as everyone remained quiet, and Rainbow turned away a couple seconds later. "Yeah, thought so." he grumbled, "If no one realized already, I ain't fun to be around, so just... Dunno, do whatever ya want." he added with a dismissive wave of his hand as he turned the other way and proceeded to go to sleep, or at least try his best to do so. But how he ended the conversation really didn't sit right with him, which caused him to sigh and turn towards the others again, "Listen, I know I'm harsh. And I won't even try to apologize, but ya can't honestly expect someone like me to have all the answers. Hell, you guys are far more competent at these kinds of things! My only advantage over _all_ of you is literally that I can't die, that's it. You should be helping my dumbass along, not expect answers from me." he then scratched his head in annoyance, "Okay, that's it, night."

Interestingly enough, the girls, getting over their initial surprise, all showed a small smile.

"Guess we're just stressed after all that happened." Applejack spoke up quietly, "We've been getting thrown into situation after situation startin' with that war, and now this ol' mess."

"Y-yeah." Fluttershy nodded, "We barely had time to rest, so what could it have been like for him?"

"From what they've told us in the TARDIS, even the whole immortal thing is new for him." Derpy revealed, "So it's probably not just us that have a lot of stress on their shoulders."

Rainbow was listening in on their conversation as she passed a glance at the fast-asleep Jeff then she sat down next to them with her forehooves crossed, "Maybe I was a bit over the top."

"Maybe?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, a lot! Fine, I admit. I was really reckless ever since those two have appeared." she admitted, "But can you really blame me?! With what we've been through, someone who's that nice... And that _powerful_... They were too suspicious." she added, referring to Albedo no doubt. "And... Since Twilight didn't say anything, I thought I had to... Sorry, I really should have paid more attention when you to told me what they said. Guess I was just out of it."

"We don't blame you sugarcube." Applejack smiled, "I'm sure without context most of us would have been like that, even if that's a flimsy excuse for you." she chuckled.

"C'mon! I said I was sorry!" Rainbow pouted.

"We know." Pinkie laughed, "But you had it coming."

Her pout persisted for a couple seconds before she too began gently laughing, "Haha, I guess I did." she then let out a sigh, "I'm sorry guys."

"Hey, no worries. We're all used to it." Pinkie laughed causing the pegasus to pout again, and the others to laugh along at her expense. "On that note, if we're gonna be serious about this, do you think we're gonna get out of here?"

"Out of here?" Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Sure. Back home? I... I don't know Pinkie." she admitted, "I wanna be positive and say that we will, but we have to admit, Jeff is right. We have nothing to base our hopes on, as that's all we really have, hope. Hope that we will get home, that _they_ will find us."

"If they're even looking for us." Rainbow grumbled.

"Rainbow! Why wouldn't they be?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, I worded it wrong!" Rainbow declared, immediately recognizing her mistake, "What I meant wasn't that they _aren't_ looking for us, it's maybe a 'they _can't_ look for us' instead." everyone gave her somewhat confused looks, "Look, you guys know what Jeff and that Albedo guy said about the portal right? It's unpredictable, as in it's obvious that we ended up somewhere, but they really have... no way of following us. How would they know where we are exactly?"

"That's... That's true." Twilight admitted as her eyes went wide, "We trusted so much in the TARDIS we really forgot about the fact that we're nowhere near Equestria right now." she declared, her voice quivering.

"Exactly!" Rainbow nodded eagerly, "And even if they do somehow locate us, what exactly determines _when_ they arrive? We could literally miss each other by minutes if the portal really just opens as randomly as it seems to."

"Wow Rainbow, don't take this the wrong way, but that's pretty smart coming from you." Pinkie chipped in, a lot less chipper now that the situation has dawned on them.

"I know I'm reckless but I'm not stupid Pinkie." Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Either way though, Jeff may be right here... We're in a _really_ shitty situation."

"No joke." Derpy nodded, "What do we do now..?"

"We should probably get some sleep everyone." Applejack spoke up, "If we're gonna be spendin' the entire day in here we better make sure we at least get a proper rest."

"Agreed." Twilight nodded, along with everyone else. They soon joined Jeff in drifting off to a relatively peaceful sleep.

To everyone's visible worry and annoyance they spent the entire day avoiding the rays of sunlight shining into their hideaway room, as they could do nothing else in a world as dangerous as this one. No one wanted to test whether Jeff was actually right about the Sun being deadly as such they stuck with the safer option, that being to actually do their best to block all natural light sources to the best of their ability, without actually stepping into them, which proved to be more troublesome than fruitful. But in the end, by the middle of the day the room was completely isolated from any form of sunlight which left them once again listless, waiting for the night.

By nightfall, everybody was ready to finally leave their hideout behind, their only source of nourishment being water conjured up by Twilight, a task that was difficult to do many times considering how much magic it has drained. Nonetheless the night cool air was welcomed by everyone equally as they were now out in the cracked wilderness, without any form of visible life, wondering in search of a potential way out of this world.

"We've been to a lot of terrible places so far, but this must take the cake." Twilight sighed as they continued to walk along.

"Eh, I've seen worse." Jeff shrugged, "None that I'd like a repeat of mind you."

"Are you just seriously trying to one up us?" Rainbow grinned with a roll of her eyes.

"Nah, I'm serious." Jeff turned back, his eyes signaling that he too was grinning, "Compared to some places where we ended up, this is a walk in the park. You just gotta avoid getting hurt and the Sun. All in all, not so bad."

"Do I... Do I wanna know?" Rainbow asked, her face full of worry, as she flew close to Jeff.

"Nah, I think I'll spare ya the details." Jeff shrugged, "I think ya had enough bullshit thrown at you recently for me to add to that."

"Fair enough." the pegasus conceded with a sigh, "So, do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Actually I do." Jeff nodded, "I saw a building in the distance that really reminded me of the one Albedo said they were staying at here, which if true would confirm we're in that world. So, no need to push me into the Sun anymore."

"C'mon, I told you it was an accident!"

"Sure, sure." Jeff shrugged, "Either way, if we get to that maybe through sheer dumb luck the portal will open and we'll be somewhere safer or something." he then let out a sigh, "Who am I kidding, I'm hoping we can go somewhere where I don't have to think about ways for us to not die instantly."

"That would be nice." Pinkie chipped in as she too started walking, or in her case bouncing, at Jeff's pace. "Was it always like this when you were traveling with Albedo?"

"Pretty much yeah." he nodded, "He, Hope and I have always gotten into ridiculously weird or dangerous worlds and then right after end up somewhere completely mundane without any connection or even the mention of danger. It had no rhyme or reason, but it always seemed to be the pattern, as if there _was_ actually a pattern it followed or something. I dunno, I sometimes think that thing can actually think and is just purposefully messing with us." he shrugged. "Either way, neither Albedo nor Hope are here, so I think even if that was a true theory it'll probably go right out the window."

"Wait, who is this Hope person you kept mentionin' just now?" Applejack chipped in.

"Ah, I haven't actually told you guys about her yet huh?" he smiled, "Well besides Twilight and Derpy I'd think."

"Yeah." they nodded in agreement, "Albedo has said some things but it's probably not everything."

"Ah well, in that case, you can think of her as the most powerful sorceress from back home. If it's magic, she knows her stuff, no matter what it may be." he informed them, "That's why I'm kinda hoping Albedo somehow got home and got her to help, she could easily find us. You see, she can track anyone as long as they're still alive, and with the TARDIS that probably expands through dimensions now as well."

"Someone capable of magic?" Twilight's eyes lit up.

"Haha, I knew that would catch your attention." Jeff chuckled, "I'm sure you two can impart some knowledge to each other, assuming that the magics are not too different between our worlds." he then awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked as she noticed his expressions change.

"Well, I know I just said that she can find anybody... But maybe they can't find us after all."

"Huh, why would you say that after all that hype?" Rainbow seemed visibly disappointed.

"Remember one crucial detail I said about _how_ she can find people?"

"As long as they're alive, right?" Applejack recounted, "Then she knows you right, there shouldn't be a-"

"Applejack dear, you know how I can't die right?" he stopped to turn around and look at everyone, who, with Applejack at the front, all nodded, "I didn't really tell you how that's possible did I, besides my whole race thing?"

"N-no, I don't think you did." Fluttershy nodded.

Jeff let out a prolonged sigh as realization began to settle in, "You see, unlike Albedo I'm something that's apparently called an Undying, that part you now. The part that you _don't_ know is that Undying are a race that, obviously, cannot die under any means... However, that has a condition."

"A condition?" Pinkie repeated ominously, not catching on the desperate horror the young man was probably emanating.

"You see, apparently no one knows if they are an Undying." Jeff let the matter hang for a couple seconds, "Not until they die." Pinkie audibly gasped even though this shouldn't have been cause for surprise, the others however looked on in worry.

"The time you said you got shot..?" Rainbow asked only to get a nod as a response.

"Yup. I really haven't noticed but ever since then, I haven't aged a bit, my wounds after that healed in seconds and I never run out of stamina... I can keep going on and on and on... Forever. Surprisingly I survived being bleached and burned though, but that's beside the point. But you should know what I'm getting at by now shouldn't you?"

"You're... You're physically dead..." Twilight gasped as Jeff once again just nodded, "But, but you're still-"

"Moving and doing fine, right?" Jeff chuckled, "Yeah, same here Twilight, that feeling never left. And I really don't think it ever will."

"So what you meant by she can't find you... You literally meant it?" Rainbow asked.

"It's like I'm simply off her radar." Jeff nodded, "So basically if I ever get lost, I'm probably fucked." he admitted.

"Like... Like right now..?" Derpy asked, her face now fully flushed with worry.

Jeff however only laughed at that much to everyone's confusion.

"W-what's so funny?" Rainbow snapped, though her voice cracked in the middle of it, making her sound much less intimidating.

"No, no, nothing really, it's just you guys really don't believe in yourselves enough!" he grinned, "I may be off her radar, but she can track magic a lot easier than normal life signs... Which one of us here is capable of magic?"

Twilight's eyes immediately widened, "M-me? But how-"

"Twilight, the Doctor... Does he or does he not have a time machine?"

"Wait, you're saying your friend can track me simply from me using magic sometime in the past?!"

"Pretty much yeah." Jeff nodded confidently, "She's not the most powerful sorceress back home for nothing." he followed up with a shrug, "But even if the Doc didn't come up with the idea, Albedo would have suggested it."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow, "Seems farfetched."

"Yup, exactly the reason why I believe they would have done it. Albedo's résumé is basically just the word 'farfetched'." he shrugged again.

"You really trust him huh?"

To the pegasus' surprise that caused Jeff to stop in place and turn back once again to face her, and her only. "If I could die, I would trust him with my life. He's... He has brought me out from a place I wouldn't have wanted _us_ to go... I don't... I don't think I really can ever thank him or whatever circumstances allowed us to meet." he admitted, "You may think I'm fanboying or something, but think back to how I acted back at the library... And imagine that as the normal me. That's what was the case, I almost feel like I've gained a sense of self ever since meeting him. To be honest, I probably still cause a lot of problems for them, but they seem to like me... So, guess what I'm tryin' to say is that I finally feel like I have a family."

"Wow... S-sorry I doubted you." Rainbow honestly apologized, "I didn't know."

"No, no, that's fair." Jeff smiled warmly behind his bandana, "And, to be honest with you all as well, after what you've said you've been through, I'm really surprised you're actively following me and putting your trust in me."

"Well sugarcube, I think you've proved to us more times than not that you're really different from the one we met." Applejack admitted with an honest smile, "Plus, I think we can take a little crazy after everything. Especially the good crazy."

"Yeah, I mean we're friends with Pinkie." Rainbow added with a shrug, gaining a small glare which soon turned into a smile as everyone shared a small laugh.

"Eh, can't really refute that." the pink pony shrugged as they continued forward towards the two 'hugging' buildings.

"...Thanks guys." Jeff added silently as Rainbow flew close to him and briefly touched him with her wing a couple of times.

"No worries bro." the rainbow maned pegasus grinned confidently, "After all the things, I'm sure we're a group now."

"Ha, I guess we are." Jeff nodded along, "And with our great luck, this probably ain't the last time we get stuck somewhere."

"I don't wanna say you're right, but I'm inclined to believe ya." Applejack nodded along, "To think a couple months ago everything seemed so normal."

"Tell me about it." Jeff agreed before he briefly glanced back, "No, really, tell me about it. I'm interested."

"Well, if you really mean it." Derpy spoke up as the six ponies began retelling everything from Twilight meeting and disappearing with the Doctor to them ending up in a war with an alternate Doctor who was maybe a little more psycho than normally possible. Rainbow could swear Jeff's face switched emotions every minute with how the stories were told to him in quick succession.

"Well goddamn that's a lot of shit." Jeff declared honestly before reaching for his mouth for a brief moment, "Sorry, was too worked up, just realized I'm being a major hypocrite right now."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, I told you guys not to swear, and here I am putting sailors to shame."

"Eh, don't worry about it."

"Ya sure?"

"I think we've been surrounded and exposed to a lot worse things than swearing at this point." Twilight added with her equivalent of a shrug, a fact that surprised Jeff.

"Well if you guys say s-"

The group moved forward for a couple more seconds before everyone realized that Jeff has shut up way to abruptly. That was when they realized that in the mild light of the moon, they did not see the fact that he was now suddenly a head shorter than usual. His body was now standing, surprisingly, without its head, his arms crossed as if he was irate. That was when from the distance they've heard.

"**_I really fuckin' didn't need this ya damn bird!_**"

The situation was so surreal to everyone that for another brief couple seconds no one moved at all before Rainbow looked at the others who all nodded in unanimous agreement soon after which the pegasus shot off with a rainbow streak, chasing after what seemed to be a massive mutated condor.

"Yeah Rainbow, go after the giant mutated bird, great idea!" she grumbled to herself as she gulped soon after. "Hang on, I'm comin'!" she shouted after Jeff. As she caught up to the culprit, the bird let out a horrific screech once it noticed in surprise Rainbow approaching, "Yeah, yeah, shut up bird breath!" she snapped in annoyance as she sped up and rammed the bird from the side, the momentary stun causing it to let go of Jeff's head, as the pegasus took the opportunity to catch it and immediately high tail it backwards.

"Rainbow, whilst I appreciate the save, I think we forgot a crucial detail about this whole thing." Jeff's head spoke which only just now surprised the pegasus, "Don't ask how I'm talking without actual working vocal cords right now, I don't know, and frankly I don't wanna know, back on topic."

"R-right, what do you think we're forgetting?"

"My body is bleeding."

"..." the silence as Rainbow's face went wide in utter horror was enough for Jeff to know that she more than likely understood his fears now. The girl immediately shot off like a rainbow trailed rocket towards the rest of their group.

"Rainbow..? I-is there a problem?" Fluttershy asked, her worry visible on her face clearly.

" _MOVE IT!_" the incoming pegasus shouted at the top of her lungs, however the others didn't seem to get it which caused her to point at the body with its arms crossed in a hurry. Once they looked at it, it only took a second before they all started running at full speed ahead of the approaching pegasus and away from the even faster approaching danger under the sand of the night. "W-what about you?"

"Just toss my head and hope I catch it, you worry about yourself!" Jeff shouted with a confident grin, "I'll catch up soon enough."

"If you say so..." Rainbow awkwardly locked eyes with him before throwing him with full force after which she sped off following the others.

"Okay body, you can do this!" Jeff confidently stated as he saw his body raise its arms to catch him... Only for him to fall on through without them reacting and him landing face first in the cold sand. "For fuck's sake man, can't you do this right?" the body hung its upper torso forward as if he was regretting it as it walked forward and bent over to pick up the head, "See, it ain't that hard!" he grumbled as his body put his head on albeit in reverse causing him to be even more irate before twisting it back into its correct position, the bandana now around his neck. "How is it that both of us got stuck in the head?"

' _I... I don't know. I didn't know that it can do... _That _ whole thing._' younger Jeff's genuinely surprised voice resounded in his head.

"At least we know now. Stupid ass bird." Jeff grumbled as he sped off himself, causing a blow of wind to strike the sand as he started. It only took him a couple seconds to catch up to the others as he already heard the sand rustling behind them.

"Woah, how the hell did you catch up to us already?!" Rainbow snapped in pure amazement.

"Well, ya know, when your body doesn't care whether your bones break or not, you can use it to its full potential." Jeff shrugged before he pointed behind them, "But we have guests." from out the ground as if they were some sort of shark, they could see the back scales of multiple sandworms appear and disappear in the sand.

"Uugh, that's beyond creepy." Derpy shuddered as she tried to keep pace with the rainbow maned pegasus.

"You haven't seen one from the inside yet." Jeff shuddered which completely unnerved everyone, "Just sayin'." he added with a shrug.

"What do we do then?" Applejack asked between breaths, as they were now getting closer to their destination, however they were obviously bringing unwanted guests.

"We need to abandon the building and just keep at it." Jeff declared, "These things don't care about anything that's blocking their path, they just want to eat whatever bled." he sighed, "Which reminds me, Twilight, could ya do somethin' about this?" he asked indicating to his hoodie's collar, "It might not be much, but it might throw them off us long enough for us to take a breather. Well, you guys not me."

"Y-yeah, okay, just a sec." the lavender coated unicorn nodded as her horn has lit up and the stains on Jeff's hoodie disappeared within seconds.

As Jeff took a peak behind him again he noticed that the worms were noticeably getting slower and slower in their approach which caused him to grin manically wide. "Hah yeah! Fuckers don't have eyes! Albedo was right!"

"I thought you've seen one of these things up close and _personal_?!"

"Yeah, but we weren't really concerned about whether the things had eyes or not!" Jeff raised in his defense, "This means that they rely on whatever thing they use to sense blood, and hearing... Which means that we might not have to abandon the building after all! Up to the highest floor you can go, then shut up!"

** _Ruins, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D._ **

"Gotcha!" Rainbow and the others nodded as they quickened their pace to reach the buildings in front of them. As soon as they climbed the stairs to what once might have been the second highest floor, now barely the third, they saw that surprisingly, the inside of the building looked relatively safer than the outside. Even if the building they entered was surrounded on all sides by others, the felt a tad bit safer right now. They all got close to the floor as Jeff slowly moved his finger to his mouth, indicating that the others should stay quiet, who all nodded in response. In their anxious waiting time, they all took in their surroundings, most notably that all the broken windows were barred with furniture and anything easily movable. Jeff was surprised the others could see him and his instructions clearly in the dimly lit room, but for the moment he couldn't exactly question it further.

As time passed, the group seemed quite tuckered out as most of them have fallen asleep in close proximity to each other. Once things were confirmed to have calmed down, and the Sandworms' presence could no longer be felt, Jeff finally felt a genuine smile come to his face at the sight, before he noticed that most of the group, the ones that were sleeping especially, were quite visibly shivering. He huddled over to the lavender unicorn and gently poked her to shake her awake. She wasn't quite sleeping, but she was on her way there.

"Hey Twiley, sorry to ask this, but the others are freezing." Jeff said as he pointed at everyone else, almost not being too convincing himself with his hands as cold as ice, "Do you think you have something for that?"

"I... I can probably conjure a fire to keep us warm yeah." the unicorn nodded.

"I wish Hope was here." Jeff muttered, "I mean no offense to you, but constantly keeping the fire up will probably be draining to you, it'd be nice if we had blankets or some shit like that. I can't have you guys dyin' on me."

"No worries, I don't think it'll come to that." Twilight smiled, "And thanks for your concern, but this doesn't require much, only if I adjust the heat, which currently doesn't seem necessary." she added with a wink as Jeff noticed the others stop shivering, "You can go back to sleep if you want, I'll stay up for a bit. I have some things on my mind."

"You sure? I can stay up for a good while if ya need me." Jeff offered but the unicorn just shook her head, "Alright, but if you need something don't hesitate to poke me with something."

"P-Poke you?"

"I have trouble believing people who wake me up have good intentions, if you know what I mean." he briefly looked down at his hoodie's pockets where Twilight knew the knife was located as she mouthed 'Oh' soundlessly before nodding. "Sorry, I don't exactly have good memories of that." he added with a shrug before he lay down next to the others. He then abruptly raised his head, "Oh yeah, one more thing, there's a storm coming, don't be surprised." he then laid his head back down.

"O-okay then." the unicorn nodded awkwardly, still not fully used to the boy's weird antics.

Nonetheless even if she didn't believe him, which at this point was hard to, the sandstorm did in fact hit their collage of buildings acting as their current hideaway as its sound was clearly, albeit muffled, heard throughout the barricaded room. Nonetheless none of the group even seemed to show signs of waking up, causing the unicorn to show a small smile as she also let out a sigh.

'I'm starting to think traveling with the Doctor of all people was safer.' she chuckled inwardly. 'But if these two's theory is actually right, the reason he came to Equestria in the first place was because of this stupid portal... Haah, everything became even more confusing than it already was.' she then smiled, 'Though not like that's not the norm nowadays.' she shrugged before glancing at a nearby crack in front of one window, she trotted over and looked outside briefly as the sandstorm was still enveloping them, she used her magic to move the wardrobe blocking the window over a bit to this time block it completely, not chancing deathly sunrays hitting anyone. 'I guess I should go to sleep as well.' she lay down next to Rainbow and Jeff and closed her eyes slowly, 'Hopefully tomorrow will be better.'

** _6 hours later_ **

** _Limbo_ **

Surrounded on all sides by large pine trees reaching up to the grimdark grey sky, the group of six ponies and one human were waking up to quite a shocking sight. No color seemed to exist around them, just shades of grey, black and white. Their own forms were pitch black, their eyes large white spots which cast an eerie image of their group. As everyone slowly woke up and looked around in horror, the eyes of Jeff visibly shrunk, instead of his pupils, and started twitching as he raised his arms in irritation.

" _What the flying fuck just happened!?_" he shouted in a deep voice, much unlike his regular one, "We can't even sleep a bit without that goddamn thing screwin' us over?!"

"Apparently not." Rainbow spoke up, surprisingly calmer than Jeff expected her to be, "Any idea where we could be this time?"

"I have a couple." Jeff nodded, which was hard to make out without a clear backdrop. "With the whole aesthetic and dreadful feel this place gives me, I'm leanin' towards this one. You see, there was a game like this back home, the visuals were similar to this forest, so I'd think it a safe guess that's this place. It was called Limbo in game. Never really had time to play it myself, but I saw enough to know we're in it deep."

"Great, from bad to worse huh?" Applejack groaned, "I ain't even gonna ask cause that would just make it worse."

"Hah, you guys are at least learning that jinxing apparently is a thing." Jeff chuckled, "Either way, I guess we should move along, it's definitely safer to move than to stay still."

"What to look out for then?"

"Any movement you hear, keep an eye out around you and stick close to each other... Don't wanna pressure you but if we get separated, you'll probably die. And, before you protest, not because you guys are incapable of defending yourself, but because this place is something unusually treacherous."

"G-Got it." Derpy nodded, along with the others.

"Great. Let's move." Jeff pointed forward with his hand, "Rainbow, Derpy, hate to ask ya, but can you guys scout ahead? If you see anything you can shout back, cause at that point it has already seen you." Fluttershy briefly looked at Jeff, and though no one could see it, a small smile formed on her face, her wing was still healing after all.

"That's supposed to make us feel better?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not in particular." Jeff shrugged, " _But_, we do need to know if we'll run into anything or not."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Rainbow let out a sigh as she and Derpy locked eyes and nodded, "We'll go check."

"'preciate it."

The two pegasi took to the air, and because the two have similar hairstyles, Jeff could literally not tell the difference between them currently unless they spoke so he felt even worse that, that particularly was one of the reasons he chose those two to check. The other was that he saw how Fluttershy was not exactly going strong in the mental department due to probable high stress levels, to the pegasus' possible dismay if she found out, he forgot the actual damage her wing was recovering from.

As the two pegasi flew through the trees, the shrubbery looking more and more similar, the two almost couldn't even tell if they were making progress in moving forward at all. For a good five minutes they really couldn't tell any difference, everything they passed looked like something they have already seen or went by... That is, until they noticed one strange thing in a nearby small clearing, one that contained a small hill.

"Hey, Derpy! Do ya see that thing?"

"Yeah, what do you think it is?"

"Nothing good I bet." Rainbow clicked her tongue in frustration, "We should go back and te- Oh shit! Scratch that! Double time it back, we gotta run!"

"W-what, wh-" however Derpy's eyes widened before she could finish her question as she saw what seemed to be two pairs of massive and long black spider legs emerge from underneath the small grey patch of grass that acted as a hill, soon after another two pairs emerging from the back, and in a matter of seconds in an almost human like fashion the giant beast threw a chunk of dirt at the two pegasi who could barely dodge out of the way.

"Okay, we get it, you're pissed!" Rainbow shouted, briefly clicking her tongue at what probably was an influence from Jeff, "But can you please kindly _fuck off_?!" she shouted louder in irritation. "JEEEFFF!" she shouted soon after as she immediately took off with a colorless rainbow trail, which now sparkled in various shades of grey, immediately getting the young man's attention.

"What is it? What'd ya see?"

"Big-ass spider!" the pegasus shouted as she barely landed on her feet, sliding across the ground, then ran back up to face Jeff, "And it's really peeved!"

"Oh great, of all the things we could have run into!" Jeff sighed, "Fuckin' dammit!" he punched a nearby tree in anger, blowing a hole in its bark which soon cracked enough for the tree to fall over, "Oops."

"W-what do we do?" Derpy asked as she landed next to them, out of breath, none of them commenting on the poor tree's fate.

"What else _can_ we do?" Jeff asked with a hand on his face in frustration of their current situation, "We have to fight the thing, or it won't stop chasing us."

"Really?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If it's anything like the one in that game, it won't stop chasing even if you dismember it, as long as it can move, it will follow." Jeff groaned, "Persistent fucker that one."

"You can say that again." Applejack sighed, "Alright people, whether we like it or not, we have a spider to kill!"

"That's the spirit!" Rainbow cheered. "I was talking about not wanting to do it by the way."

"A-any advice then?" Fluttershy meekly spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Umm, let's see... I don't think there really is any? You just have to beat the thing up enough for it to stay down... _That_ however is the hard part." Jeff honestly admitted, "I mean, it is still just a spider."

"Figures." Rainbow groaned.

"Flutters, I know how you are with animals, but trust me that in this world, these things don't care about anything but their stomach."

"I-I get it." Fluttershy nodded, "I think I already got mostly used to that fact." she presumably smiled, but as previously stated, no one's mouth was currently visible.

"As long as you're ready for it." Jeff nodded, "Alright team, let's mess the fucker up!"

' _You're swearing a lot recently._' younger Jeff noted in their mind.

'Eh, bite me. I'm excited.'

' _Of course you are._'

'Oi, don't get sassy with me Jeffy!'

" _Well excuse me for being bothered by it!_"

"Huh?" Twilight spoke up with a raised eyebrow.

" _Huh_?" Jeff asked back before he realized, " _Oh, what? Y-You heard that? How did this happen?_"

"Literally, what are you even talkin' about?" Rainbow asked in surprise.

" _Um, right, so, hello everyone, I'm Jeff's younger self's conscience._" younger Jeff said through current Jeff's voice, " _We had an argument and somehow I got in control._"

"Oh! So he was serious about that!"

" _Yeah, I don't think _we _ would have had any reason to lie did we?_"

"Guess not, no." Rainbow shrugged.

" _I... I'm gonna switch back, I dunno how to fight. I don't want to ruin this chance or anything._" _Jeff _meekly nodded, "Ah, boy that was unexpected." Jeff shook his head, "Sorry 'bout that peeps, Jeffy doesn't like me swearin'."

"Eh, we got used to it." Applejack shrugged, "Not the first person with the mouth of a sailor." she added with a chuckle.

"Ouch, my nonexistent pride just shattered." Jeff chuckled as they heard a high-pitched screech behind them, "Ah, guess talky time is over, fighty time is just about to start... _Again._"

"Okay, let's give this thing hell!" Rainbow declared with one front hoof raised high as if leading a charge.

** _Inside the TARDIS_ **

The spaceship's phonebooth like doors opened inwards as a very tired Doctor and Charmcaster stepped in, the white haired human after them just groaned in frustration, at this point fatigue was naught but a foreign concept to him yet his face clearly reflected the fact that he was still not exempt from the mental kind of fatigue. But if one were to look at the other two sprawled over the floors of the spaceship, they would have had enough proof to realize that things were more than likely not going too well.

"Forty-two worlds..." the Doctor groaned as he was looking at the ceiling. " _Forty... Two..._"

"All without anyone or anything we even remotely know..." Charmcaster joined him in complaining.

"How could forty-two consecutive worlds all contain traces of the same individual?" Albedo asked out loud from no one in particular. "It hardly makes any sense."

"I know right?" the sorceress nodded along, "But I really did feel Twilight every time."

"Maybe they were traces from the future?" the Doctor offered. "Or worlds they traveled through?"

"What do you mean?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, it was not once that I met an alternate version of myself or something similar. So, what if all the times you have felt Ms. Sparkle's presence it was from worlds that we would visit in the future?" the Doctor expanded on his first theory.

"Oh lord, if that's the case this is gonna take ages!" Charmcaster reached her arms out and wiggled them in visible frustration. "I like your other theory better."

"It will indeed, however that seems like quite a plausible theory with how we now suspect the portal to work." Albedo nodded with a slight groan, "As if we did not have enough problems already. But, to be honest, I also _do_ like your other theory better."

"Tell me about it." the Doctor sighed himself as he chuckled soon after. "Let's take a small break and continue after?"

"I wouldn't mind that to be honest." Charmcaster nodded with a small smile and a hand on her temple, "Do you have a break room and a book or something?"

"Of course! Just go down that hall and turn the second right, it's a smaller room with a bookcase you might fight endearing."

"Thanks Doc. Sorry about this guys."

"Do not worry about it dear, you are the one who is working the hardest out of all of us."

The sorcerer just snickered and started walking over towards the doorway, "Sure, sure." as soon as the girl left and was out of sight, Albedo turned towards the Doctor.

"Hey Doc, can I speak with you for a minute?"

"Of course." the Doctor nodded.

"I really wanted to keep this to myself, but I feel I held onto it long enough." Albedo awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "If... If we do not find them in the really near future, I am afraid Hope will not be able to hold her conscience for long. She wants to stay strong for everyone's sake but it is really wearing on her as we are going along."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too." the Doctor nodded, "She really seems to be pushing herself for us, and I feel bad for that."

"There is one other thing, one thing that I really do not want to think as a possibility."

"...The fact that we might never find them?"

Albedo let out a brief sigh of surprise before nodding, "Indeed, if things go like this, it might actually be like how Hope said, we might be looking for an eternity." his eyes then suddenly and inexplicably switched colors, well his right eye that is, turning green much to the Doctor's confusion, "I. Getting. Angry." _he_ stated, "Everyone. Missing. Annoying. Frustrating. ** _Infuriating._**" his eyes then suddenly switched back without any further explanation once again, "Whoa buddy, I get it, I think we are finally in agreement. It _is_ extremely infuriating that the portal seems to be messing with us at its own leisure."

"Woah, was that your other... _personality_?"

"Hmm, I suppose that is a good enough word to use for him. But yes, he is my new resident up here." he pointed towards his head, "Death did say he was quite chatty and agreeable... Most of the time."

"Except when he stabbed Jeff."

"...Except when he stabbed Jeff, yes." his eyes changed again, "Did. Not. Apologize?"

"No, you really didn't mate." the Doctor smiled gently, "But it's at least a start that you recognized that."

"Oh." he looked down, "Sorry." his eyes shifted back, "It really is not us you should be apologizing to buddy." Albedo chuckled, "But it _is_ good to know that you are at least looking out for me." his eyes shifted again, "Like. Brother. Protect." and back to normal again, "I appreciate that, really. Also, thank you for talking to me on your own volition."

"Out of context this scene would probably be so confusing." the Doctor declared with a small grin.

"I bet it would be." Albedo chuckled. "Anyway, let us try our best not to think about possible terrible what if scenarios and instead focus our efforts on actually finding them."

"Of course, hadn't planned on giving up yet." the Doctor nodded.

The two shared a chuckle before they decided to join the sorceress in the break room as the TARDIS wandered aimlessly through the Time Vortex. Albedo was more and more realizing how he was a lot more exhausted mentally than physically, same with the Doctor, but the two still enjoyed the company that was presented to them as they sat quietly for at least half an hour reading various sorts of books by all sorts of famous authors the Doctor claimed were authentic. As such, both the alien and the sorceress took great care not to ruin any of the books they have got their hands on, whilst also making sure to get as immersed as possible in whatever story the books presented to them. Interestingly enough the room had a small cupboard filled with snacks and tea as well making their relaxation time just a bit sweeter.

Once the trio has decided that their relaxation took more than enough time, they decided to head back to the control room of the TARDIS, with full intentions of finally finding their missing friends. What they did not account for however, was the fact that the one, no the _thing_, that caused this whole mess in the first place was awaiting them quietly in the control room, its hum droning on as background noise. It was the portal, open and patiently waiting.

"Well, that's unexpected." the Doctor dumbfoundedly declared with his eyes going wide.

"It most definitely is." Albedo nodded before scowling, "What is it that you want now?"

"Are you _seriously_ talking to it?"

"At this point, I have every reason to believe that our friend here is at least a bit sapient with how it's openings have been coordinated. Even if it is not, I needed that."

"Fair, I guess." the Doctor shrugged, "Do you think we should go through?"

"It can't be worse than searching endlessly." Charmcaster shrugged.

"Indeed, and if the need arises, I now can get us back here without much problems as you know."

"Yeah, I guess it can't hurt... Much."

"Real confidence there Doc." the sorceress chuckled at the worried look the ponified Time Lord was showing.

"Excuse me for not having as much experience with dimensional anomalies as you two!" the Doctor mock pouted before laughing, "But if you think it's fine, it should be. I trust you two."

"Oh, thank you." Albedo beamed, "Well then, shall we?"

"Let's go." the sorceress and the Time Lord nodded as all three of them stepped through the portal with some expectations.

** _Limbo_ **

The trio stepped out of the portal that has opened on the TARDIS into a forest of full monochrome. It almost felt like someone turned on a filter whilst taking a picture, it felt quite surreal. The darkness and colorless world around them almost seemed to enclose them in a small box, a suffocating feeling accompanying this sensation.

"Well if this place ain't just peachy." Charmcaster groaned with a roll of her eyes, only just now noticing that only their eyes were visible, and even those were just white glowing spots, "Woah, that's new."

"Quite so." Albedo nodded as strangely, the letters above him now where glowing white with an ominous feeling accompanying them as well, "We are apparently in Limbo."

"Oh that's just fantastic!" the sorceress groaned, "It just had to be a bleak place."

"Again, how the hell do you know where we are within just a couple seconds of being here?" the Doctor asked, audibly confused.

"Right, I did say I would tell you later." Albedo nodded, "So, for currently unknown reasons, wherever we end up I always see large floating letters telling me my location. This time it's rather ominous I must say. It's just glowing at me... Menacingly."

"Giant... letters?" the Doctor visibly deadpanned, his large white orbs-for-eyes going wider. "And neither you nor Death know the cause?"

" _We do not, no. And for your information, even I cannot perceive these letters even though we share a body. _But _ I am inclined to believe him as it has always been accurate, or vague but at least accurate._"

"Is that not concerning you?"

"Eh, it was at first." Albedo admitted with a shrug, "But at this point it seems to be just one other unnatural thing that consistently happens to me."

"Is that right..?"

"Either way, Hope dear, could you do a quick search?"

"Sure, just a sec." the sorceress nodded as her eyes and hands started glowing white, surprising the aliens for a second, even more so when the glowing abruptly stopped. "They're here! It's definite! I can sense her magic!" she shouted suddenly, though the two could tell from her voice that something was not right, "But her magic is fluctuating, something's not okay... They might be in danger!"

"In a place like this I cannot refute that." Albedo nodded before letting out a sigh, "Hey, can we switch?" that sentence confused the sorceress.

"What do you mean..?"

"You. Sure?" the slightly deeper voice spoke from Albedo's mouth further enhancing the girl's surprise.

"Huh, since when do you-"

"Look, you are supposed to be my anger, as long as you know who are on our side, I think I am going to let you handle whatever it is they are fighting. As opposed to us they need a break."

"Neat." _he_ said, "Alright. Let us. Go." he nodded before his body began changing.

"It seems they worked out their differences." the Doctor smiled, "So at least you don't have to worry about that." he added in a whisper, though the two were soon after were left confused and utterly surprised at what _he_ has done.

Charmcaster recognized the initial body frame to be that of a Vaxasaurian, the alien species that she has come to know as Humungousaur thanks to Ben, but it began drastically changing soon after. She assumed at first that the other personality just hyper evolved the creature, which more than likely _was_ right, though it did not stop there. The creature suddenly gained a lower pair of arms and soon after its whole body started gaining white glowing lines running amok as if they were made of magma. To finish off the monstrosity, large moth like wings sprouted from its back, bearing the same lines.

"What the hell have you done..?!" she asked more in amazement at the possibility than in a scolding matter.

"**_Firepower. Lot. Of. Firepower_**." the creature _he_ was controlling said in a deep growling voice as he briefly turned around to look at the sorceress' glowing eyes, "**_Trust?_**"

"Albedo seems to trust you." the girl nodded, "And as hard as it is talking to his body but not to him, I'm sorry I have to ask, but... You know who are with us, right?"

"**_Yes. Checked. Memories._**" the huge creature nodded. "**_Dunno. With. Black. Filter. Though. I... Try._**"

"Off you go then!" the Doctor chuckled, "We'll catch up."

"**_Understood._**" _he_ seemed to chuckle, surprising the two as that showed yet another spurt of fast growth. With a flap of its wings the creature took off with a huge gust of wind being left in its wake.

"Alright, let's catch up." Charmcaster chuckled, though the Doctor noted a bit of shaking in her voice.

"...Are you alright?"

"I'm... I'm not sure. I'm probably not... I dunno if I can be after all this."

"Hey, you told him about the potion." the Doctor smiled surprising the girl.

"You knew?"

"I heard is the better term." he smiled, though it was invisible. "I'm sorry if that was inappropriate, I caught your conversation once I walked up to you back in the cave, I apologize." he added quickly, "I think he took it great, and I have to be honest with you, if you are determined about this, you should go ahead." he put a hoof on her shoulder again, "He really seems to need you to be there for him. I'll try my best as well, but my stays are more than likely always going to be temporary, but I do think you can help him out more than you think."

Charmcaster smiled as she chuckled for a bit, "I think that's a two-way deal Doctor." she added, "Thanks for talking to me about this."

"Of course, anytime." the Doctor nodded, "As long as you two will actually talk it out in length."

"I'll do my best." she nodded, "Now, I think we should go before _he_ gets all the fun."

"I think you're forgetting that I'm a noncombatant!" he shouted after her as they sped off towards the direction the creature flew towards.

** _Limbo_ **

Jeff was having trouble admitting to himself that they were not exactly faring all too well against the giant eight legged creature currently trying to gut them like fish. Sure, he was gonna be fine in the end and everyone _was_ doing their best, that much was sure, but even including Jeff himself, he could tell that they were still more than tired to have a good handle on the fight. He also had trouble adjusting his tactics from insanely reckless to team friendly. He had to admit, he was not at all used to fighting in a large group like this. It also didn't help that somehow from one minute to the other, there seemed to be more than one spider in their sights.

"Oh for the love of-" Jeff groaned upon noticing the fact, "Dash! Any more?!"

"No! I only see these three!"

" _THREE?!_" Jeff snapped, with his white orbs going wide, "God damn it all!"

"Yeah, exactly!" she nodded as she flew over next to him, "So, what's the plan?" the pegasus asked as both of them looked on at the still incoming spiders that were only barely slowed down by the large group of trees blocking their enormous bodies from advancing directly.

"All of you look tired enough already, we won't hold out for long like this." Jeff grumbled as he took a brief look at the pegasus next to him, "Well, except for you... What's up with that?"

"I guess I'm just used to being tired, but I guarantee that I'm also barely keepin' it together. You're the only one that's doing okay... Sorta."

"Yeah, thanks." Jeff rolled his eyes, "To answer your question though, I have no idea, I'm actually running out of ideas. I mean, I knew they wouldn't really care if I cut one or two limbs off but this is absurd... They just won't stop no matter what we do! Fuck, this is so annoying!"

"Tell me about it..." Rainbow groaned before to Jeff's surprise she actually landed next to him instead of continuing on floating, "Guess this is the end, huh?"

"Huh?! Are ya seriously giving up right now?!"

"What else do you want us to do?!" the pegasus snapped back in audible anger, surprising Jeff greatly, "Everyone is beyond tired! We can't do jack shit to these things, and they just. Keep. _Coming!_ It's about time we fa... ...ce the truth..?" the girl's eyes seemed to go wide in despair, or at least something similar, it was hard to tell with just white orbs, as she saw something utterly monstrous approaching from the sky. Jeff was sure that if the world wasn't monochrome, all color would have been drained from her. "W-What... Is that..?"

Jeff squinted at the sky as he suddenly made out the monster coming towards them at great speeds that the pegasus more than likely saw. It and its four arms and vaguely saurian appearance along with the completely out of place moth like wings on its back and the various white lines running over his body made it more than obvious to Jeff what, no _who_, it was. He immediately started grinning and cackling, initially making the pegasus think that he had lost it, before he broke out in a sprint _towards the creature_.

"WHAT ARE YOU-" she however stopped herself once she saw one crucial detail on the thing's chest that made her mind go blank for a second, "No way..." she muttered as she clearly made out the hourglass symbol she barely caught a glance of back in Ponyville.

The creature landed right on top of one spider, its sheer mass making it cry out in what sounded to be massive amounts of pain. Without a shred of mercy, the creature slammed its two left hands' fists onto the arachnid's head making its suffering come to a quick end.

"Holy shit dude! You have no idea how happy I am to fuckin' see ya again!" Jeff shouted out in excitement, only to have two cannoned hands pointed towards him, "Woah, hold the damn horses, it's me, Jeff!"

"**_Jeff?_**" the deep voiced surprised the young man as the cannons lowered, "**_Sorry. Hard. To. Tell._**"

"You're... Not Albedo."

"**_No. He. Sleep. He. Tired. I. In. Control. No. Name. Yet. Speak hard._**"

"Oh! You're the other guy!" Jeff was now grinning again, completely forgetting the time the 'other guy' stabbed him through the throat.

"**_Yes._**" he let the answer hang for a bit before continuing, "**_Sorry._**"

"Huh? For what?"

"**_The. Stab._**" _he_ revealed, "**_And. The. Threatening. Right. Now._**"

"Oh! Don't worry about that dude as long as it's about me. I'll bounce back faster than you can blink!"

"**_I. See._**" he nodded.

"I know you said that talkin' is hard, and that I'm keepin' you from stopping that, but what even is this form?"

"**_Amalgam. Of. Many things._**" he stated, "**_Vaxasaurian, Evolved plus Tetramand plus Pyronite plus Necrofriggian. Mind is... Less smart. Less strain. On me._**"

"That's so damn awesome!"

"**_Thanks!_**" his tone of voice raised as if he was actually happy.

' _He is learning at an exceptional rate... Is this the Galvan influence?_' Death mused in his thoughts.

"**_Other glowy orbs... Ponies?_**"

"Yeah, it's only the spiders that we don't like."

"**_Okay. On it. Step back. Please._**" he presumably smiled, "**_Gonna be. Quick._**"

"On it Cap!" Jeff grinned, though it wasn't visible, as he stepped back and ushered everyone behind him as the mutated alien transformed all his four arms into cannons which under the span of a second started firing off a multitude of flaming bullets hitting the spiders still remaining, head on. Switching back from the cannons _he_ went onto the offensive as he now was bashing them from left to right, into trees and at times _with_ trees. "Whooo! A man after my own heart!"

"That's just mindless destruction!" Twilight snapped.

"EXACTLY!" Jeff shouted in his over excited state leaving the unicorn dumbfounded.

"Ah, there you are everyone!" a familiar voice came from next to them as everyone looked to their left noticing another equine form and one that more than likely belonged to a young woman.

"Doctor!" Twilight seemed to lit up at the voice of the Time Lord as the two approached them.

"Ha, I _was_ right!" Jeff raised his right fist high, "They did go to get ya!" he added as he walked up to the young woman.

"Wait, you're Hope?!"

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Charmcaster awkwardly nodded, "I take it Jeff didn't shut up about me?"

"Hey, why'd ya phrase it that way?!"

"You have trouble not talking sometimes." Charmcaster put a hand to her hip as Twilight and Rainbow started snickering, the others too tired to do anything more than smile. "But yeah, of course we'd look for you, you dummy!"

"I guess you're right, sorry." Jeff rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "We kinda gave up on that halfway."

"I figured." the Doctor nodded, "But after forty-two worlds it was kinda hard to just up and give up."

"F-forty-two?!" Rainbow's eyes figuratively bugged out, "It took you that long to find us? Dang."

"Yeah, you got lucky." Jeff nodded.

"Lucky?!"

"Yeah, I mean, if you think about it, what were the exact chances of them finding us out there in the big-ass multiverse?" the young man pointed out, "We got really lucky here." he then clapped his hands together, "Whatevs, besides the point. What's up with big crazy over there?"

"Death apparently said that he's friendly." the Doctor revealed, "And... destructive."

"Ah, well. That came in handy here." Rainbow shrugged. "And _is_ kinda obvious."

"Sure did." Applejack nodded, "I'll expect an explanation tomorrow though."

"Same." the others chorused.

"That... Can be arranged." the Doctor nodded with a smile.

As the newly reunited group started chatting happily, despite the fact that a practical massacre was going on behind them, would normally have been a questionable scene. However, to this group this was way between the lines of normalcy. As their small talk continued a bright flash of white light signaled the fact that the spiders were more than likely gone.

"Done." _he_ said as he joined the group, "Everybody here?"

"Yup, everybody's here and accounted for." Charmcaster nodded, looking him straight in the eye. "You okay?"

"Guess. I dunno. What. Normal is." he shrugged. "I'm barely. A month. Old." he added, using contractions and now in a more structured sentence group.

"Fair." Jeff nodded, also shrugging, "So I guess you'll be staying around then huh?"

"Likely." he nodded, "Still. No one. Gave. Name." he sighed, "So. I'm just. 'You' still." he then turned to Jeff, "If you. Suggest to. Name me. Something absurd. I'll deck. You."

"Woah, okay." Jeff held up his arms, immediately giving away that he was thinking about it.

"I. Knew it." he crossed his arms and groaned.

"Are you sure we should leave? Did you-" the Doctor started only to get interrupted half way.

"Look. Do you. Want to. Care about. The wellbeing. Of those. Things? Or do. You wanna. Go home?" he crossed his arms with the motion of a raised eyebrow, which with the lack of any visible facial motions was only reflected in his eyes' movements.

"I just wanted to make sure, that's all." the Doctor would have raised his arms defensively if he could, "If you say it's okay, then I'll take your word on it."

"Appreciate that. Ready to. Go back?"

"I think we are." Twilight nodded, though uncertainly, the prospect of dealing with someone with multiple personalities was not in her list of experiences. "Where did you guys leave the TARDIS?"

"There was. No need. To take. The TARDIS." he spoke up again, confusing the unicorn in the process. "Here." he snapped his fingers as a swirling white portal opened up next to them, "Instant TARDIS."

"Holy shit! You can open portals now?!" Jeff shouted again.

"Yes."

"Since how long?"

"Couple hours?" he shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go." he ushered everyone into the portal, one after another, only entering after the last one of them, that being the Doctor, entered.

** _Inside the TARDIS_ **

"Sweet Celestia, I forgot what colors look like!" Rainbow groaned as she leaned on the ground of the control room, finally happy to have a safe place to rest.

"After that place, I'm not surprised." Charmcaster chuckled, "Speaking of colors though, you guys are a lot more colorful than I imagined."

"Yeah, we got that before sugarcube." Applejack laughed as well.

"Sorry, I figured that'd be the case." the sorceress rubbed the back of her head shyly, "Anyhow, the Doctor told me some things about you, so we can at least skip the introductions on one part." she shrugged, "As you probably already know, I'm Charmcaster... Or Hope."

Everybody chorused a quite orderly "Nice to meet you." in response to the girl's introduction which only elicited yet another snicker from her. He then turned towards _him_, almost expecting an answer, "So, where do we go now?"

"Huh? Uh. Back home?" he asked with a shrug, "Dunno. TARDIS. People. Need rest. I guess."

"Ya got that right buddy!" Rainbow groaned in agreement.

"But. Their world. Unsafe."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor immediately spoke up in concern at the ominous statement.

"Oh. Not for. The inhabitants." he shook his head, "For you."

"And that makes it better how exactly?"

"It doesn't." he nodded, "I'm just. Saying that. You shouldn't. Go back for. A while. Something felt. Off. Potential danger."

"But Rarity's still back there!" Applejack argued.

"I told you. Not for. The inhabitants." he let out a long sigh as if to catch his breath, "Something. Not right. With the. Portal. Feels... Nauseating."

"You're saying you can somehow tell if something is gonna go wrong?" Charmcaster raised an eyebrow in disbelief, more at the convenience than the possibility.

"Maybe. I dunno." he shrugged again, "Just saying. We shouldn't. Go back to. Equestria for. A hot minute."

"Alright, as stupid as they might sound, your hunches saved us more times than they should've." Jeff spoke up with a groan, "And _you're_ pretty much Albedo so I'm trustin' you with this."

"Thanks." he nodded with a grin, "But damn. Talking. Hard. Very."

"Ah, you're back to broken words again."

"Yes. I... Tire-" he shook his head as his eyes switched color suddenly, back to their original crimson color, "Oh, guess that was the end of my nap then." he shrugged, "Felt nice while it lasted."

"Albedo!" Charmcaster exclaimed in happiness, "Did you seriously just go to sleep whilst we were trying to save everyone?!"

"I mean, since the opportunity presented itself?" he chuckled, "Besides, it seems like our friend handled himself for his first major activity."

"Dude, I know you two share a body and all, but you should've seen it!" Jeff exclaimed in what seemed to be utter happiness.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy." Rainbow nodded along as she sat up. "He turned you into some crazy big creature thing!"

"And he totally smashed those spiders to bits!" Jeff added with extra sound effects to further 'enhance' the retelling.

"Well, if one thing I did get from this is that you two absolutely suck at telling stories." he deadpanned much to the other two's dismay, "What exactly did he turn me into that left such an impact on both of you? Especially you Jeffrey?"

"Oh! Oh! Right, just a sec." Jeff nodded before he pulled out his phone, "I recorded it cause my dumbass can't remember stuff like that!"

"Are... Are you proud of that fact..?" Charmcaster and Rainbow said in unison, then looked at each other before bursting out into a short-lived laughter. Jeff gave them a glare before searching up the sound file and pressing play on it.

'**_Amalgam. Of. Many things. Vaxasaurian, Evolved plus Tetramand plus Pyronite plus Necrofriggian. Mind is... Less smart. Less strain._**' a deeper voice resounded from the phone for a couple seconds before the sound clip ended.

"That many, and what more, at once?!" Albedo voiced his surprise with a mild shout, "I did not know I can combine the alien forms themselves..." he muttered to himself. "Doctor, is there a larger room inside the TARDIS?"

"While I really don't like that look your giving me, and how that question sounded, I am inclined to say, yes, there is." the Doctor nodded with a sigh, "Follow me."

** _Gym, Inside the TARDIS_ **

"You... You had a high school sized gym... Inside the TARDIS?" Jeff asked as his mind was visibly failing to comprehend the usefulness of the room as Rainbow joined his confusion with a vigorous nodding.

"I have a lot of things in the TARDIS Jeff." the Doctor shrugged, "Honestly, I can get lost sometimes."

"And the use for that is..?" Twilight spoke up with her own question.

"Shush now, they might be useful sometime!"

"Sometime outside our lifespan." Rainbow rolled her eyes with a groan as everyone but the Doctor shared a chuckle.

"Anyhow, since ya asked about this, ya wanna try the big monster combo I guess?" Jeff asked as he turned to Albedo who only nodded.

"That was my intention, yes."

"Just as I feared." the Time Lord sighed, "Oh well, might as well go for it." he shrugged with a small smile, actually quite curious.

"Alright then." the former Galvan cracked his neck as he closed his eyes and started to concentrate. The initial transformation into a Vaxasaurian still caused quite a bit of surprise to the pony group and the Doctor, the interesting red belt slung across his pale brown torso baring the hourglass symbol, and the pair of black pants with red markings that covered his entire lower torso safe for his feet was an interesting choice of attire in the Doctor's eyes.

'Then again, it is a humanoid dinosaur creature... Perhaps I should not expect much in that regard.' he shrugged after making a mental note.

What followed soon after however was much more of a surprise, now seeing it visibly take place. That being when Albedo evolved the creature, causing its skin to turn a very pale green as a large turtle shell like armor piece, complete with spikes and a pale dark blue coloration, now adorned his back, his head was also covered in a helmet like growth, to the Doctor it looked similar to an ankylosaurus, which was further reinforced as at the end of the creature's tail was now a similarly blue colored spiked mace. The clothing it lost was now replaced by armor and mechanical plates sticking out from various places of the creature's body as the sash also disappeared, the hourglass symbol now quite literally merged with the creature's armored torso, sickly appendages sprouting from it on four sides. He now spoke in a deeper voice, "**Alright, now comes the fun part I suppose.**"

"Do you know what you're doin'?" Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow in concern.

"**Absolutely no idea.**" he honestly admitted which almost floored everybody, "**But technically I did it once.**" he shrugged soon after which looked quite odd coming from a large armored dinosaur creature. He clenched both his large fists as with a brief moment of concentration a second pair of arms suddenly appeared under his current ones which made him grin from success, "**Alright, Tetramand successfully applied.**"

"Doing good so far." Charmcaster nodded reassuringly.

"Ah, so the four arms come from a different alien as well." the Doctor mused with a smile, "Interesting. What about those white lines we saw though?"

"**That should be the next part.**" Albedo nodded as in a matter of seconds his whole body began to be covered by what seemed to be magmatic rocks, pure fire visible through cracks which the Doctor immediately associated with the white lines, as they soon covered the dinosaur creature's whole body. Its red eyes replaced by two larger gaps in between the stones as their ends began flaming. "**And now for the final part.**" he nodded to himself as large pale blue moth like wings sprouted from his back which within a matter of seconds were also covered by the rocks and fire. "**Ha! I got it!**"

"Oh yes you do!" Jeff jumped in joy, "You look even better in color!"

"A-and a l-lot more terrifying!" Fluttershy meekly spoke up from behind Applejack.

"**This is sure to prove itself useful in the future.**"

"Oh, one thing though!" Jeff spoke up again, "Your other self said that this would cause way more strain on you guys."

"**Yes, I suppose that is an acceptable compromise.**" Albedo nodded as he turned back his forms one by one, not exactly sure what would happen if he tried to revert all at once. "But for now I do not think that will be a problem." he shrugged, "Thanks for the opportunity Doctor."

"Ha, thank _you_ for showing me this!" he chuckled, "Now then, after a spectacle like that, are we ready to head back to your world?" he then narrowed his eyes, "Hopefully intact this time?"

"You are never going to let that go, are you?"

"Oh, you better believe I am not about to!"

"Give me a break here!" the Galvan groaned as the rest of the group just laughed at their exchange as they made their way back towards the Control Room, once again with the Doctor's guidance. "Oh, lest I forget! Before we do that though, we should make a stop back at the Mining Outpost, I promised that we will return."

"Ah, I see. Alright, I guess we can make a detour." the Doctor nodded along with a smile.

** _Break Room, Dwarven Mining Outpost, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, Earth, Summer, 2018 A.D._ **

The TARDIS began materializing itself in the middle of a larger room with a long table in it, lined with a multitude of chairs. The table itself had a multitude of very tasty looking food items on it placed in larger patches onto the neatly set table. It was almost as if the dwarves were preparing for a feast, no not as if, that was more than likely what the preparations were going on for. However, that all stopped once an unfamiliar noise filled their ears, making most of them, who were not too immersed with their work, immediately turn their heads towards the source of the noise, an empty patch near a cavern wall.

"Wha' in blue blazes is that noise?" Duncan, one of the head dwarves, asked in utter confusion as Orwell and Simon joined him with a smile on their faces.

"We're 'bout ta have visitors Duncan!" Orwell declared with a wide grin as within a matter of seconds, the blue police box appeared out of thin air, leaving the blond dwarf confused.

The doors on the mysterious police box opened inwards as the white haired head of their savior popped out, looked around, and upon spotting the trio sported a wide happy grin, "Ha, first try!"

"That never happens." Twilight commented from behind him, "Are you sure?"

"Oi, don't just casually diss me and my TARDIS Ms. Sparkle!" the Doctor groaned in mock offense from the inside.

"Hey, you set a reputation for yourself man." Rainbow shrugged.

Albedo stepped out of the box and walked up to greet the trio in person, he extended a hand which each of them shook in turn with a smile as Orwell just put his hands on his hips and belted out into a good natured laughter.

"Ya did say ya were gonna come back as fast as you can, but I sure as hell didn't expect it to be in a couple hours!"

"Believe me, that is record time for us." Albedo laughed, "I see all of you are in the middle of preparations."

"Yeah, once we sent over securicam footage to HQ ta back up our claims about crazy space ghosts, they suddenly sent us over a whole buncha foodstuffs." Simon revealed with a confused shrug, "Dunno either man, but free food is free food. So, we thought we'd take a break for today and celebrate that we are not horrible purple mutant creatures!"

"And, now that ya guys are back, I suppose it came in handy as well!" the brown-haired dwarf added, "So come on, let's eat an' drink an' all that! ...Once we actually prepare everything." he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head upon realization which caused Albedo to snicker.

"I believe there is more than enough of us to help out here." he offered as everybody exited from the TARDIS, the dwarves at this point not even the slightest bit confused at the pastel colored group of ponies and Jeff. The group was already as weird as it could possibly get.

"Yeah, let us help." Charmcaster nodded, "We could use that much to wind down, it's been a tough couple of hours."

"Suit yerselves!" Orwell nodded, "We ain't about ta refuse some volunteerin' helpin' hands and... err, hooves?"

"That works for us." Rainbow shrugged with a grin, "Tell us what we can do! Oh, I'm Rainbow by the way." she added as everyone else introduced themselves back and forth and then set off to make preparations. It did not take long before everyone was sitting at the table, Albedo's group closer to Simon's group upon everyone's requests. In barely half an hour everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives, some of the dwarves gotten drunk beyond belief in that short amount of time whilst the others were quite overjoyed that everything seemed to return to normal for them. Albedo, the Doctor and the dwarven leader duo, Simon and Orwell, were chatting away about what happened with them until they found their friends, as the two dwarves were more than eager to listen in earnest.

In a couple hours, after the good majority of the food and drinks were gone, the ones not dead drunk were cleaning up everything in the large room as everyone was preparing for their friends' departure. Orwell, despite being one of the dwarves who drank the most, did not at all appear drunk or even tipsy, the same could also be said about their leader Simon, the two of them standing in front of Albedo and his group with large smiles on their faces as everyone around them either threw away the trash or picked up drunken dwarves to transport them to their temporary quarters.

"Dang, I really dunno how we're ever gonna thank ya." Simon smiled with a slightly depressed sigh as he looked up at Albedo.

"And I have already told you that, that is not necessary." Albedo smiled back, "I could not well enough leave you in your dire situation. Do not worry about it, really."

"Sonny, ya kno' we can' exactly do that don'tcha?" Orwell crossed his arms with a slight frown, "Dwarves don' exactly like bein' indebted to anyone ya see?" he then let out a short sigh before smiling, "So... Anythin' on your mind?"

"Hmm... If you are that adamant about it, I cannot well refuse." he sighed, "In that case, you really cannot help me right now, but you mentioned that you guys like to tamper with weapons and tools, right?"

"As well as any ol' dwarf, yeah." Simon nodded.

"Well, I have... _Had_ a weapon of my own you see, but currently it is of the same fate as my companions were, lost, somewhere out _there._" he solemnly smiled, "So, I would like to request, that if I ever were to get it back... No, _when_ I get it back, would you be so kind as to perform regular maintenance?"

"Sure I would!" Orwell nodded eagerly, "I've been needin' to relax a bit after all the work even without the alien ghost business. I'd be glad ta help ya out." he then scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "That is if I can help with it. One wee problem with that though, we don' exactly have a way ta contact ya do we now?" he looked behind him, at the TARDIS, where everyone was waiting for him, the Doctor lightheartedly listening in on their conversation from the doorway, "What with the whole dimension schtick?"

"Ah, of course!" Albedo nodded before taking out his phone from his jacket's pocket, "Do one of you perchance have a phone or a similar device? I have another device that could work, but I am confident in believing that none of you are telepaths."

"Yeah... That ain't gonna work. But I _do_ have a phone!" Orwell nodded as he walked over to what appeared to be a coat rack and from one of the jackets, he picked up a phone that looked a lot more technologically advanced than Albedo's one. "Why?"

"May I?" he politely asked for the device which the dwarf eagerly gave, "As it turns out, through some strange events in the past, _this_ number right here, somehow redirects to my phone, and my phone only. Even between dimensions." the alien explained, "It might be a bit costly if you were to call me though." he joked.

"That's fascinating." the Doctor spoke up from behind them, "How exactly did you find out about this though?"

"Umm, Kevin used Gwendolyn's phone somehow to call me once when we were in a precarious position, even with knowledge of the barrier, I do not know what caused it to happen to be perfectly honest, and he himself does not seem to remember so it is still a mystery, nonetheless the phone rang and we could hold a conversation."

"That's marvelous!" Simon exclaimed in happiness, "So, by that I guess you're also sayin' to call you if there's ever another portal?"

"I would also appreciate that, yes." Albedo chuckled, "There you go, all input and named." he smiled as he handed the phone back. The number had the name 'Albedo (Sonny)' input in it and with a goofy picture of Albedo smiling to decorate the contact.

"Ah, ya could've told me if ya didn' like bein' called that!" Orwell spoke up with a gentle smile.

"Come now, you were so into it, I could not take that from you!" Albedo chuckled as the Doctor had a smug grin on his face, confusing Simon as Orwell could not see him, as he seemed to know where this was going, "I just, you know... Thought I would let you know that I am more than likely older than you." he smiled as he closed his eyes and turned around.

"Wha-?!" the brown haired dwarf along with his boss did a simultaneous double take. "H-huh?" he then sighed, "I feel like I'm gon' regret this, but... How old are ya exactly?"

"917." he smiled as he put his hands on his hip.

"What in blue blazes?!"

"Second time we heard that today boss." Orwell chuckled as he put his phone away once more with the friendly immortal's number inside it. "That sure as hell wasn't on the list of things I was expecting to hear today."

"I can imagine." Albedo chuckled, "Now, I am sorry that I must leave on this surprising note, but before that I think I can do you guys one last favor?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I believe you have mentioned that your teleporter is not operational?"

"Oh lord, you aren't thinkin' of..?"

However as if it was supposed to serve as an answer, Albedo was enveloped in a brief flash of red light to be replaced by a humanoid creature with very long arms and large hands, his body having red marks on a black base running along his back whilst the reverse color scheme was present at the front as the red lines formed a circle on his head which made it looked like an eye, the same mysterious hourglass symbol neatly staying on his chest. It was a Galvanic Mechamorph, which Benjamin simply dubbed as Upgrade. "If you would be so kind as to direct me towards the device."

Orwell just let out a chuckle after a brief whistle before guiding the alien over to the device's location. Once near it Albedo immediately merged with the device and in seconds began fixing it up and, as the nickname would suggest, upgrading it to last longer amongst other various small technical upgrades which only increased its performance.

"That should do it." the former Galvan declared, clapping his hands together, before he turned back.

"Yer just aimin' to make us collect a big debt aren'tcha?" Simon just whistled upon looking at the finished device, "How exactly are you expectin' us ta repay this?"

"I told you I do not require anything else besides the maintenance on that weapon so you do not have to worry about this." he smiled, "But, I believe I must be off now."

"Yer just gonna leave like that?"

"I apologize, I shall return whenever convenient but we must get going." Albedo showed a guilty smile.

"I see, in that case we best not keep ya." Orwell nodded as the trio moved back towards the TARDIS.

Albedo boarded the space ship and looked back at the two dwarves, "Until next time you two!" with those simple words and a wave from him the TARDIS dematerialized and disappeared through the time stream and between dimensions in a couple seconds.

"Well boss, we made some interestin' friends today."

"You can say that again." Simon chuckled.

"C'mon, let's go get some shut eye."

"I don' really think I'm capable of that right now Kingsley." Simon shuddered with excitement but nonetheless followed his second in command.

** _Main Hall, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D._ **

"That's one hell of a story." Kai commented as she Ben, and his cousin who joined them recently just exited from her office.

"Yeah, no wonder they don't really like talking about it." Gwen nodded, "But at the same time... It feels like they want to feel familiar with us."

"I can't even imagine what that must feel like." Ben admitted, "We look exactly alike with people that they've lost... I, I don't know what to say to that."

"For how young they are comparatively, they are really holding it together." Kai added, "I guess like us in a way."

"Those two are almost terrifyingly competent with those weapons of theirs." Gwen added, "Makes sense now I guess." she sighed, "If only they didn't have to do that. Do you... Do you think that Fuse guy could become dangerous for us?"

"I don't know Gwen." Ben responded honestly, "From what we know of him, we probably couldn't take him if he exists in this world as well. But if he doesn't, as much as I hate to say it, it's best that only one world got sacrificed. Let's just... Let's just hope he doesn't find out anything about the portals... It could cause a disaster anywhere he visited."

"That's true. Those kids seemed brave, but I hope I'm not the only one who could tell that they _are_ scared." Kai added.

"It's understandable." Gwen said with a frown, "All alone, in a place you only vaguely know... With people who look like your loved ones." she turned to Ben, "How is Ace handling this?"

"I... I really don't know. On the surface he seems okay, he's smiling and he's friendly. But even if I know he trusts him, he still seems to flinch every time he sees Albedo, but I don't think he noticed it yet." he let out a sigh, "I know he probably doesn't want us to worry about him, but... He's not exactly doing okay." he admitted, "Though Albedo did promise him that if he gets an ability to freely travel through worlds their first destination would be their old world, to change it."

"Would that mean that they'd go back home?" Kai asked.

"I'm afraid not." Ben shook his head in denial, "If Albedo manages to get back to their past, that's what it will be, the _past_. If they change everything, that will create a parallel world where they did not need to evacuate... Their home... It's already-"

"...Oh."

"I think they know that." Gwen added, "They, or at least Dawn and Dexter, are slowly coming to terms with that. But, do they know of this promise the two made?"

"I don't think so Gwen." Ben shook his head again, "They only told me about it in passing, so I don't think word got around to those two."

"I see..." Gwen clapped her hands together, "Well, I suppose we shouldn't dwell on it ourselves. We'll be there for them if they ever need help either way, won't we?"

"Ya bet we will." Ben nodded, "I'm gonna be sure of that."

As the three made their silent pledge to each other about their friends, a strangely familiar noise started ringing throughout the main hall again as Ben's eyes went wide and started to dart across the room in a visible worry. He knew this noise, of course he did, the last time he heard it, him and his girlfriend almost got flattened by what emitted it.

"I'm having the worst case of déjá vu right now." Ben grumbled as both Kai and Gwen looked at him in worry.

"What is-" Gwen managed to ask before being interrupted.

The one that interrupted her was a blue police call box appearing out of thin air in a short distance from them, its doors wide open with Albedo looking worriedly at them, hastily waving his arms around to tell them to move out of the way. What they didn't notice was that his right eye was green.

" _Incoming!_" he shouted in a slightly deeper voice, his hands turning into a pale red goop like substance as they extended forward and grew in mass enough to stop the phone box in its tracks and suspend it in midair, making it come to an almost immediate halt, safe for inertia. "Ha! Better landing. Than last. Time!"

" _Really not reassuring!_" Ben heard the Doctor's voice from inside shout in anger, " _What is this dimension made of?!_"

"Anomalies." _he_ simply stated, then he noticed the trio close to them, Ben in the form of a Segmentasapien encapsuling himself and his friends in a dome which disappeared when he looked at them, "Oh. Hi Ben!" he waved ecstatically like a child.

' _Ben?_' the hero asked in surprise in his mind, ' _What happened?_'

As the goop like substance of a Polymorph slowly disappeared, gently putting the TARDIS to the ground, who Ben thought was Albedo stepped out of the space ship looking back at it with his hands on his hips, "Ha, she's in one piece now Doc!"

"Told you, not reassuring!" the Doctor once again shouted from inside as Ben saw him fiddling with what appeared to be a large circular device.

"Albedo!" Ben shouted as he turned back, this time with a smile on his face, "You guys are back! Really couldn't let go of the dramatic entrance, could ya?"

"Not our fault." he said with a shrug as he turned around with a smug grin, making Ben, who was now closer, clearly notice his right eye, "This dimension. It's... Tricky? For some reason. It's hard to. Get into. Makes ships like. The TARDIS, mess up. We don't know. Why." he then looked directly at Ben, this time both his heterochromatic eyes focusing in on him and the two girls, "Also, not Albedo." he added as he pointed to his eyes, "See? Different."

"H-huh?" Ben was visibly shocked, as were the other two, who were even less clued in on what happened in that Wasteland world, "That means you're... The other-?"

"Yup." he nodded ecstatically, "Getting. Smarter every. Minute!" he proudly declared before quite comically deflating, "Smart is... An overstatement, I'm stupid as hell." he saw Ben mouth 'What about that time?' as if to avoid directly asking it in front of the girls, thankfully he picked up on it, "Yeah, probably because of that. Kinda. Trigger happy." he shrugged, "No name. Until I have one. Call me No. 2 or something." he chuckled, "That's fun."

"Ah, o-okay." Ben nodded awkwardly at No. 2's suggestion, "Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're in control, what happened to Albedo?"

"Nothing major." No. 2 waved dismissively, "Passed out during travel. Got too much into testing something. Tell ya in a bit?" he mused, "He should be up soon."

"And you guys didn't stop him why..?"

"Do I. Look like. A responsible person?" No. 2 asked with an incredulous expression, "Dunno bout. The others tho." he then noticed how weirdly Ben was staring at him, "Couple months old. That's a lie. Only like. A month. Speaking still hard. Don't stare. Rude."

"Right, sorry." Ben chuckled before No. 2 as well started snickering, "You're a lot more easygoing than what I'm used to."

"Yeah, I guess." he shrugged, "Anger and fun. In massive dosages. And some extra side-effects, we don't. Talk about those." he declared.

"Are you two planning on letting us in too?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow as she and Kai walked closer to the two of them.

"Yeah, of course." Ben nodded, "Let's just wait for everybody to get out here first, okay?"

"Everybody? How many peopl-" Kai was about to ask how many people they have brought with them before for whatever reason she almost felt her blood freeze once a certain someone stepped outside the weird phone box. That someone being Jeff, a person Gwen only saw on a screen and Kai was still not told about.

"What's the hold up?" Jeff spoke up with a raised eyebrow, his skull patterned bandana completely covering his mouth.

"Nothing. Catching Ben. Up." No. 2 said with a shrug, "I'm. Regressing. In speech. Again."

"Then stop talking?"

"Fair."

"So, on that note, hey Ben!" he said happily as he extended a fist, as Ben returned his fist bump. "We miss anythin'?"

"Don't think you did, no." Ben shook his head with a smile, "But _you_ guys have to catch us up as soon as possible."

"Oh believe me, this'll be a stupid story." Jeff chuckled before he noticed the undeniable stares coming his way, "Oh! Gwen and... Kai?" he declared first happily then in confusion, "Judging by your expression you don't have a clue who I am huh?"

"The topic didn't really come up, sorry." Gwen apologized as she seemed to calm down a bit. Jeff's presence was something she did not expect. It was overwhelming to her even despite the fact that he was not showing any life signs. "Are you okay?"

"As okay as I can be." Jeff shrugged then turned to Kai, "Oi, Earth-whatever to Kai, you in there?"

"H-huh?" Kai asked in surprise as she looked at her hands to notice they were shaking.

"What are you doing _Jeff_?" Ben asked, the name almost sending bells ringing in Kai's head.

"I dunno." Jeff shrugged honestly, but still he was clearly worried, "Gwen, can ya tell me anythin'?"

"I don't know why, but you have a very overwhelming presence." Gwen revealed, "I can't explain it, but to someone without powers it might be even worse of an effect."

"Oh, great. How do I uninstall it?"

Gwen snickered at that before continuing, "I could put a dampening spell on you until we figure out what the problem is."

"Oh, let's go with that then, sure." Jeff nodded along, as Gwen uttered a short spell and he briefly glowed for a second, "On that note Kai, this time hopefully better, I'm Jeff. Perhaps you've... heard of me?" he asked cockily as he took off the bandana revealing the carved smile which slightly took Gwen back seeing it up close, however it didn't really do much good for Kai.

"Put that back on." a friendly sounding female voice spoke up from inside the ship as Charmcaster appeared and gently smacked the back of Jeff's head. "At least for now."

"Fine, fine!" Jeff chuckled, "I don't care either way."

"Hope!" Gwen happily shouted as she practically ran up to the older girl to envelop her in a warm hug, "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Haha, I'm here now Gwen." she smiled, "It's really been a while."

"It sure has." Gwen nodded, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Ha, with those two," she referred to Jeff and Albedo, "I had to be." she followed up with a shrug.

"So, you're Charmcaster?" Kai asked, walking up to them, now a good deal calmer that the spell was in place. A large burly man in the background, by the name of Paul, could be seen picking himself off the floor as he briefly collapsed once Jeff appeared, however to his relief, no one saw his blunder, "Ben told me about you, I'm Kai. Kai Green." she greeted the sorceress with a smile.

Charmcaster chuckled, "Nice to finally meet you Kai. Oh, by the way, everyone around here calls me Hope, you can do that too, no worries." she smiled, "We're gonna be seeing each other a lot going forward after all."

"Normally that would be totally ominous." Ben chipped in, "But in our situation..."

"All normal." No. 2 chipped in as well, "Not like anything we do is normal." he mused, "Well, anything _you_ do, I'm... New."

"New..? What are you-" Gwen spoke up before she finally took note of the heterochromatic eyes, "Who are you?"

"OH! Someone who realizes first try!"

"What are you guys-" Kai was once again interrupted as a clearly annoyed female voice spoke up from inside.

"Can. We. Get. Out already?!" Jeff cringed, being the closest to the door, as Rainbow's head appeared next to his' and began shouting, surprising the girls once again. "You've been talking on and on and on, can we do that _after_ everyone's out?"

"Fair point." No. 2 shrugged with a nod, "Anyplace where we can. Discuss everything?" he then sighed, "After you get over the talking ponies again?"

"Yeah, what's up with that anyway, didn't you guys already meet the Doc?" Jeff spoke up with a nod.

"They did yes." the Doctor nodded along too in confusion.

"Sorry, sorry." Kai apologized with a giggle, "I guess it's more unexpected than anything else, sorry about that."

"Hey, no harm done. I don't think you guys will be the last either." the Time Lord smiled, "I did receive a little trinket from Albedo soon after though." He added as he pulled out the ID mask from his pocket.

"An ID mask?!" Ben exclaimed with a wide grin, "You still had one of these?"

"Technically. We have two." No. 2 responded, "One is trash though."

"Yeah, it would have been so great if someone happened to tell me they even _had_ an ID mask." Charmcaster passive-aggressively snapped at No. 2, somewhat surprising Gwen.

"Hey! Don't look at me, it ain't me ya mad at Hope!" he defensively put up his hands.

"I know, but you're the next best thing."

"I dunno whether to. Be hurt. Or impressed." No. 2 declared in a deadpan.

"Alright, stop!" Kai spoke up, clearly annoyed, "Can we just take this to the meeting room?"

"Finally, a good idea!" Rainbow flew over and nodded, the two looking oddly similar whilst crossing their arms, or in the pegasus' case forelegs.

At the scene the cousins looked at each other and bursted out laughing soon followed by Hope and the Doctor as the Time Lord put the TARDIS one second out of sync and made it disappear as the large group was now on its way towards the meeting room, well Gwen's 'office' more precisely.

** _Gwen's 'Office', Conference Room, Colony Evacuation Shelter, Pacific Ocean, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D. _**

As the conference room was slowly getting populated, everyone soon deciding that Gwen's office would be a cramped fit with everyone inside, Gwen was getting more and more confused at their situation, the same could be said of the Navajo girl as the two looked on at the happily chatting ponies and their friends at the large table.

"So... Anyone mind filling us in on whatever happened?" the redhead asked as on her two sides both Ben and Kai nodded in agreement. Then the three of them immediately looked at No. 2 and the Doctor, sitting next to each other, with accusing glares as Gwen did a loud fake cough. "How about you two start..?"

"Oi, why is it always me gettin' the blame?!" the Doctor snapped.

"Oh, it's the same for you too?" No. 2 spoke up, turning towards the Time Lord, "I'm getting blamed for things I didn't. Do." his eyes suddenly flashed back to their original crimson ones, "Okay, okay, I am awake now! Apologies to all involved!" he coughed awkwardly, 'Thanks for the help.'

' _Sure._' No. 2's mental voice resounded in his head.

"So, about what happened after we left here-" the former Galvan started their story, at certain parts being helped along by the Doctor, Jeff and Charmcaster, as they recounted everything that has transpired after they left their base upon recruiting the sorceress.

They went into detail about meeting the dwarven mining group and their dire situation. Particularly the detail about an alternate Zs'Skayr that sent shivers down Ben's spine, especially after the vaguely cryptic description of his 'master' and their apparently psychotic nature, and the alternate Ben's demise. Albedo and Ben went into a bit of an anecdote explaining No. 2's origins to particularly everyone besides Charmcaster, and then they detailed his terrifyingly fast growth into a full-fledged person of their own. Soon after the traveling trio detailed their experience with going through forty-two plus worlds in a row before actually locating Jeff and the missing girls, who in turn, after introducing themselves to the outpost trio, all told their side of the experience, greatly surprising Albedo this time. Jeff, whilst telling the story, leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs on the table, putting his hands behind his head nonchalantly.

"You... You actually ended up there?" Albedo let a small smile show, "Wow, it feels like it has been so long, were they doing alright?"

"Peachy, despite the odd warning of Paradox and the fake Loboans." Jeff chuckled, "They miss you two a lot, especially Hanako and her lil' bro."

"Yes, perhaps we should... Go back and visit sometime." Charmcaster mused.

"Either way, that's a lot to take in guys." Ben spoke up as he leaned back in his chair, "Though at least that explains why No. 2 had to stand in for you. You really don't know your limits."

"I am testing if I _have_ limits!" Albedo triumphantly pointed to the sky before quieting down, "I apologize for my thoughtless actions once again however. Also, _No. 2_?"

"Temporary name until actual." Jeff responded.

"Ah. I see." Albedo nodded, "Now then, I believe everybody should be all caught up?"

"Yes, thanks for that." Kai nodded with a sigh, "Is this the current 'norm' by the way? Because I didn't know what I signed up for if so."

"Kai, c'mon, it was the norm even before that!" Ben chuckled, "It's just a bit more... _multidimensional._"

"Gee, really helpful." Kai rolled her eyes in response before laughing, "Still, this is interesting."

"What is?" Albedo asked.

"This whole situation, despite the whole Plumbers coup thing, it's somewhat exciting isn't it? I think it would be, going through all sorts of dimensions and all that?"

"It's all fun and games until a giant worm eats you." Jeff bluntly declared, "But otherwise, girl, you're speaking my language! Adventure!"

"Oh no, here we go again..." Albedo and Charmcaster said in perfect unison with worried faces.

"I am not even gonna question that." Kai honestly declared.

"On that note, what's your plan going forward?" Ben asked from the former Galvan.

"For now, I think we are going to go back to the base and have everyone relax, as we have been told by my dear other self, we cannot go back to their world yet." Albedo revealed, "Something is apparently off with the portal and it could cause some kind of situation. I do not know how he can feel it, but I am inclined to trust myself."

"Aren't the guys going to be overwhelmed?" Ben chuckled.

"Well, I will overrule it because I am the boss." Albedo smugly crossed his arms before bursting out into a laugh, "No, to be honest that _is_ a possibility, no, it will more than likely happen, but we have the space to accommodate everyone for however long it would take."

"So, what he's saying is you're welcome back home." Charmcaster summarized, looking at the Doctor's group.

"Does that mean we're going back?" Ben asked from Albedo.

" _We_ are, yes." Albedo nodded, "We just wanted to report that we have come back. Buut, as it seems like a certain someone is enjoying the company, so I do not think it would hurt to stay for a bit longer, eh?" he winked at the hero slyly who only blushed slightly at his implications, "I believe I have my confirmation." he chuckled, "Now then, we shall leave soon, but I still have one more thing to discuss... That is if you would be so kind as to inform me of our dear Dawn and Dexter's location?" he inquired from Gwen, who whilst not understanding the reason, was more than happy to disclose their location. She probably would have been weirded out or even straight up defensive a year ago, but she had to admit it to herself that she was trusting their former adversary more and more.

"Yeah, they should be in their rooms, just a sec let me give you the location."

"Thank you kindly." Albedo nodded as he stood up and started leaving, "This should only take a couple minutes, be back in a bit."

"What was that about?" Gwen asked from Charmcaster and Jeff in particular.

"Guess what he got a hold of now." Jeff sighed along with the sorceress as both of the cousin's eyes went wide.

"Holy shi-" Ben was about to curse before he caught himself, unintentionally. "That's huge!" he exclaimed happily, completely disregarding whatever might have lead to that point.

"Yeah, it really is." Charmcaster nodded, "I suppose he would like to share the information with those two as well, it _is_ about their world after all."

"May I inquire what we are being left out from currently?" the Doctor spoke up before Ben did an awkward chuckle.

"Aaah, you see-"

Ben did his best to as quickly and as efficiently tell everyone on the Doctor's side about what Ace and his friends have told them about the world they came from in a desperate attempt to escape. The reactions were varied, but all leaned towards 'shock', and a general understanding of Albedo's promise to the young man.

"I see, I'm beginning to understand everything about this situation, or at least I hope I do." the Doctor nodded, "Is everyone you know in such a desperate situation?"

"If our own isn't any indication." Ben shrugged, "In a sense we're all used to dire situations, this is just a new level." he sighed, "A level I didn't think we would ever come to."

"Indeed, interdimensional mishaps are seldom a common occurrence." a gentlemanly voice spoke up from behind Ben, giving him the shock of the day.

"Paradox! Stop doing that!"

The time traveling professor chuckled with a gentle smile, getting some glances from the Doctor and the girls minus Rainbow Dash, "My apologies Benjamin, I am short on time, as such I could not really choose where I would arrive, only _when_."

"Is there an actual problem this time Prof?" Jeff spoke up as he sat up normally, unusually serious if Rainbow had to admit.

"Oh no, nothing of the sort! I am just here to know if you heeded my warning. Though I suppose knowing the outcome of the situation hardly begets a second check. However, I do have some interesting, if not concerning, news to all of you."

"When you say it's concerning Prof, I don't think I wanna ignore it." Ben gulped.

"I'm afraid to inform you that this world is officially off my radar. I do not... Know anything that will happen in the future from this point on, I have never been in this one from this point on. Not this current version of me at least, which would mean..."

"That this world is forming... Because of us?" Charmcaster questioned, the Doctor and his group, especially the Time Lord intently listening into their conversation.

"That seems to be the case, yes my dear." the professor nodded with a small smile, "Perhaps with time, things will return and I will be able to be more helpful in terms of things, but, concerning this world, for the time being I do not believe I can be of any more help."

"Do not worry about that Professor!" Albedo cheerfully spoke up as he has just returned to the room, "We already knew this would happen, or at least _you_ did, did you not?"

The professor laughed heartily, "It seems I cannot hide even that much from you, can I now? I did have an inkling of something like this transpiring once we have confirmed you to be a special case."

"Ey, the special snowflake causes more problems! Whoopde-doo!" Jeff teased with a thumbs down, "What we gonna do now, did you tell them?"

"I did, indeed." Albedo nodded, "They were surprised of course, but otherwise I received no requests to stop." he sighed, "Perhaps it is for the better."

"Oh, is this perchance about young Ace's world?" Paradox spoke up with a question.

"Oh, you know of it?!" Albedo happily asked.

"Of course I do! After all... I _was_ the one who brought them here." Paradox revealed to everyone's shock, "Or rather, I _will _be the one."

** _Alright, so with that beautiful cliffhanger, I am ending this short yet at the same time really long three-chapter arc that took forever to get out to all of you still around._ **

** _Nonetheless, whilst it may not really seem like it, this was one arc of the original draft of the story that I really liked, but felt that I didn't realize it how I wanted to. As such, this complete rework of it is what I feel I am satisfied with. On the other hand, whilst it may seem like a simple side adventure, which I won't deny it to be, it set the stage for future events with some characters and revelations. Especially with this ending which was specifically made for the rewrite, not that this says much._ **

** _Yes, alternate Zs'Skayr will return sometime, along with his dear old master that he so smugly teased the group, or more specifically Albedo, about. I understand if he feels underwhelming, that was kind of the purpose of his character. To be an almost complete opposite of main universe Zs'Skayr. The main version is obviously manipulative, calculative and an actual boss that ruled with fear, for the most part, but this alternate one is clearly inferior, even if his master is supposed to be a character to be feared, he should feel much more like a minion than main Zs'Skayr does._ **

** _I am also sorry if the phone thing seems a bit on the nose, but I figured it would be a time skip thing, so I'm just gonna call it a Deus Ex Machina for this part and call it a day._ **

** _Either way, I learned not to make promises as getting these chapters out took way longer than I intended, and I do not have an excuse for that besides real life getting in the way of it all. I promised in January to get it out as soon as possible, that became September. As such, I will not promise an ETA for the next chapter, but it will come, sometime._ **

** _If you're still around, thanks for all the support, even if you only just read it in your spare time, I appreciate it. Till next time._ **

**_Also, PS, sorry for formatting errors again._**


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